


camp bottomridge

by trxnch (thiccjimothy)



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: BoyxBoy, Brendon Urie - Freeform, Gay, M/M, Panic! at the Disco - Freeform, Skeleton Clique, but i'm back, bye, fall out boy - Freeform, joshler - Freeform, multi-fandom - Freeform, pastel!Tyler, punk!josh, repost, short fic, so if you is homophobic, staying up this time, twenty one pilots - Freeform, very homosexual, y'all thought, yeet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-30
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-10-13 01:49:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 30,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10503921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thiccjimothy/pseuds/trxnch
Summary: tyler wasn’t fond of little children, but he needed to volunteer at a summer camp.the upsides?he’d be spending his summer with his closest friends and getting hours to graduate.the only downside?there’s a new counsellor, covered in tattoos and piercings. the only thing tyler knew about him was that he was intimidating and mysterious, closed-off, and quiet.oh yeah, and that his name is josh.>>lowercase is intended





	1. one >><< camp

**Author's Note:**

> (A.N. I'M BACK BABY
> 
> y'all thought i forgot about this but nope. even though it took me years to finally write :/
> 
> i've gone back and edited, added and removed. just let me know how you like it so far! this one is going to be shorter than most by maybe five chapters? i tried to put as little conflict in there as i could, so that's why it's so short. it's meant to be a cute lil fic :3
> 
> but without further adoo, eNJOY!!!)

tyler’s been working here for about a year now.

his sister made him sign up with her because she wanted them to “bond and give back to the community”. of course, he tried to argue that he does in fact give back to the community by following “no loitering” signs and recycling, but as usual, she said he needed to do more.

so here he was, gazing out the window of the airplane, admiring the way the sunrise looked against the white snow that is the clouds beneath them. ever since he was small, tyler had been that type of person to appreciate certain things like sunsets and flower fields. he used to always get made fun of because he wore pretty flower crowns and bright colored shirts.

he just always found them appealing.

he sat next to some random stranger, his sister deciding that she would come to his camp for the next session instead of the first one. tyler didn’t mind, that just meant he could do whatever he wanted without being pushed to do more. his sister was great, he couldn’t lie, but sometimes he got confused.

is he with his mom or his best friend?

the fuzzy voice of the pilot echoed through the plane over the intercom, tyler actually listening to what he was saying. it was rewarding, though, since he would be one of the few people that would know what to do when the plane crashed and where the nearest flotation device was. the guy next to him leaned forward to get his backpack from underneath the seat as they began take off, and he looked out the window once more.

“hey, do you want one?” the guy asked tyler, holding out a package of gum.

tyler glanced at the guy to make sure he wasn’t talking to him, and sure enough, he was. tyler looked at the gum and then back at the guy, his kind, blue eyes making tyler _want_ to take one, even though he’d never chewed gum on airplanes.

“thank you.” he said politely, taking a stick of the gum and settling back in his seat.

tyler decided he didn’t want to listen to the loud hum of the plane as it flew through the sky, so he plugged in his earphones and turned up troye’s pretty voice. tyler didn’t like sleeping in planes, instead he just focused his attention to his phone again, opening up an addicting virtual world.

yeah, he goes on virtual worlds.

and yes, he actually might be twelve, but who’s complaining here?


	2. two >><< josh

tyler groaned at the repetitive blare of his alarm clock.

his eyes were practically glued shut, trying to cling onto the last bits of sleep he could squeeze in before he had to get up for the day. he slowly opened one eye and painstakingly reached out to the clock, letting out a breath as the chilly air hit his warm body. he pressed the snooze button, hoping to get at least ten more minutes of sleep before he _really_ had to get out of bed.

he fell into a deep sleep again, in less than three minutes he was dreaming about something different. he was riding a magic carpet, like aladin. just as he was about to enter the tiger cave...

_beep! beep! beep!_

he huffed in annoyance upon hearing his alarm for the second time that morning, forcefully pressing the alarm clock button to make it stop.

he rolled over, looking up at the ceiling. the doubts were like tornados, spinning through his mind and overtaking any hope he had about getting up this morning. he couldn’t decide if this was going to be the day he quit doing this or if he was just going to go through with it.

he decided on the latter.

he swung his sock covered feet off of the bed to start his morning with a mug of coffee. if he was going to be around little children today, he definitely needed it.

tyler was probably one of the few people who thought children were heathens. he didn’t want any, he didn’t like them, and he’d rather not spend his summer looking after them. but he needed to, his senior year was coming up and he hadn’t even given a second thought to his volunteer work until his mother brought it up, and he had him join every volunteer group in the area. he’s already helped people adopt dogs and seen more blood in plastic bags than anyone ever should have, but of course, _it wasn’t enough._

he placed a ceramic mug from the cabinet underneath the coffee machine, pressing the buttons on the top of it that he still wasn’t one-hundred percent sure of what they did, but he knew enough to get his coffee bean juice and go. he heard the coffee trickle from the machine, focusing his attention elsewhere. he wondered if he would see his old friends there today. they said they would volunteer this summer, but he could never be too confident about that. tyler was open to new people, but he’d rather stay with close friends who he liked.

the coffee machine beeped, telling tyler his mug was finished. he carefully wrapped his fingers around the handle of the mug, white steam vanishing into the air as he carried it to the counter. he was trying to keep track of time, too, while eating breakfast. he grabbed a granola bar from the stash in the cabinet, mentally crossing his fingers as he tore it open.

he couldn’t trust these things, and the last thing he wanted was to clean up crusty granola from off the floor this early in the morning. tyler felt anxious for the day.

he hadn’t been there since last summer, and he was excited to meet all the new counsellors. he checked the clock again, his thoughts interrupted when it read 7:50am and he only had ten minutes to get ready and be there.

he eats too damn slow.

tyler rushed into his car at 8:10am, huffing as he was carrying a particularly heavy bag with him and he was _not_ in the best physical shape. it was the first day back, tyler always got a little nervous. it wasn’t that type of jittery feeling where you were about to perform onstage in front of a full house, it was more of the first day of school.

used to it, but still pretty scary.

he sped down the highway, a small smile tugging at his lips as he heard his phone go off, glancing at a text from patrick. he and pete were for sure there, but they were waiting for him to come.

he got multiple texts from pete, but he couldn’t read them right now, he wasn’t trying to get himself into an accident. as he pulled up to a red light, he opened his notifications. his friends had all texted the group chat he was in, his phone blowing up with messages. tyler read over them, confused as to who this _josh_ was and why they were obsessing over him.

all tyler got was that he was new and pete filled him in on every little detail about his appearance, even on how his voice sounded. tyler felt like he knew the guy already. he blew out a breath as he reached the camp and got out of his car, excited to see his friends.

he missed them.

tyler pulled up his lavender skinny jeans, tugging his matching sweater over his body to try and block out the cold. he opened the doors and checked in with the director of the camp, matty. his dark, curly hair was shaved on both sides, pushed to the right. he poked his thick-framed glasses up his nose as he smiled at tyler.

“tyler, you’re back!” he said, holding his arms out.

he was one of the people who tyler was excited to see. his smile was contagious, as soon as his pink lips stretched across his almost-perfect teeth, tyler found himself doing the same. he hugged him, pulling back and making small talk.

matty’s been camp director for around five years, but tyler only met him three summers ago. even then, they became good friends quickly and tyler honestly couldn’t ask for a better director. he told him he had to go, already twenty minutes late. tyler could hear children yelling and screaming from down the hall, sighing and walking out of the office. he saw two familiar backs leaning against the wall, talking to two _more_ familiar faces.

brendon pointed at his long-time best friend, a smile breaking across his face. this caused pete and patrick to turn around, dallon looking past pete’s shoulder at tyler. they all ran towards the blushing mess and dimpled smile that is tyler, overjoyed to see their friend.

“tyler!” brendon shouted, jumping on the taller boy and wrapping his arms and legs around him, like a koala.

he staggered back at the unexpected weight, squealing in surprise and snaking his arms around brendon and trying his best to keep them both upright.

“bren!” tyler laughed at the tickling sensation of brendon nuzzling his scruffy face in his neck.

“i missed you bae!” brendon drew out the last work, pulling back from tyler and pinching his cheeks slightly, tyler still holding onto brendon’s thighs.

“you know, sometimes i think you two are secretly dating.” pete crossed his arms, his thick eyebrows raised.

“because only couples do shit like that.” patrick insisted, smiling at tyler.

tyler rolled his eyes, dismissing what his friends were saying and letting go of brendon. brendon got off of tyler, pete going in to give him a hug, followed by patrick. they continued to catch up, as in, fill each other in on what happened to them in the five days they hadn’t seen each other. it wasn’t until matty told them to get ready for the introduction they have every year at camp, something that the whole staff dreaded.

if it was up to matty, he would skip it and just get right into the fun stuff. in fact, if it was up to matty, he’d probably change the whole camp around, but it wasn’t in his control, unfortunately.

tyler, brendon, pete, and patrick gathered into the dance area, a large, padded room with big mirrors on three sides and lockers lining the other. tyler saw the many groups of kids chatting amongst themselves and a few kids he knew from last year. he looked around and made eye contact with scott, a very blonde, very _tall_ counsellor. tyler didn’t know him all that well, but scott always hung out with a shorter guy who he assumed were dating.

tyler shot him a grin and a teeny wave, earning a bright smile from scott in return. scott was pretty nice, and tyler wouldn’t mind being friends with him.

“oh my god, tyler!” pete snapped him out of his thoughts, smacking his shoulder.

“what?” tyler asked, looking at his friend.

“it’s fucking him!” pete whisper-yelled, not wanting to cause any suspicion.

“who?” tyler asked.

patrick gasped, leaning into the conversation. “is that who i think it is?” he asked.

“who?!” tyler began to whisper-yell, too, confused.

“it’s _josh!”_ brendon said, letting his eyes follow his person of interest.

“i have no clue who you guys are talking about.” tyler shook his head, searching around the room.

then he saw _him._

his breath hitched, tyler’s eyes trailing from his dyed hair to the few piercings on his face, to the tattoos beginning at his neck and disappearing into the black t-shirt he was wearing. tyler felt his eyes blow wide as hazel ones locked with his, his heart speeding up and a sense of intimidation overshadowing him. 

“dude! he’s totally looking at you.” pete smirked, and tyler could barely feel the soft nudge between his ribs from pete’s elbow.

tyler couldn’t seem to gather any words to say as josh began to slowly walk over, never breaking eye contact with tyler. his hands began to get clammy as josh _s_ talked closer to tyler, until he finally blinked and broke sight of him for a split second. tyler let his gaze fall to the ground, his cheeks warm and red as he heard _pit-pat_ of josh’s boots on the tile in front of him.

pete, patrick, and brendon were silent, intimidated as well and standing behind tyler, using him as a sort of barrier between josh and them. tyler couldn’t help but ponder over why his heart was still racing in his chest, or perhaps the fact that his legs felt a bit weak from being in the sudden presence of the guy who his friends were hyped up about.

tyler looked up again to see that josh hadn’t stopped, and walked beside him instead. tyler caught the faint smell of cologne and smoke, something that tyler didn’t realize he liked until now. goosebumps scattered over his tanned skin as he brushed past him, the fabric of his jacket just barely skimming over him.

tyler released a breath as the guy walked away from them, slowly turning his head to follow his stride out of the door.

“holy shit.” brendon said, looking at the door as well.

“that was terrifying.” pete added.

tyler just nodded in response, eyes scanning the door for any sign of the guy’s return, but focused his attention back to matty when he asked for it.

“welcome to camp bottomridge!” matty’s voice rang through the room.

“more like tyler-ridge, am i right?” brendon whispered to pete and patrick, making them snicker and tyler roll his eyes.

matty began to go over the rules and events coming up, tyler tuning him out. he couldn’t help but think about josh and where he went. he looked like someone tyler wouldn’t be caught being interested in, but something was there. there was _something_ in josh that drew tyler towards him, and tyler knew it was a bad idea to fall for a punk.

he didn’t know how he’d survive two months with josh walking around camp.

>><<

“so what’s this about having only three people in here?” tyler asked, sitting on the top bunk.

“matty made an exception since some counsellors didn’t come this summer.” pete said, kicking his legs back and forth on the other top bunk.

“we got this whole room to ourselves!” patrick shouted, leaning back onto the soft mattress of the bottom bunk and flipping the page of his band magazine.

“it’s only one less person.” tyler stated.

“way to ruin it.” patrick pouted, looking at tyler through his thick framed glasses.

tyler only shrugged in return, turning his attention to the door when it squeaked and opened. the doors were usually unlocked, but most people knocked before entering. tyler shut his mouth when he heard the familiar _pit-pat_ of boots and the brush of leather. josh walked in, flicking his eyes to pete,

then patrick,

then tyler.

tyler held his gaze as everything around them seemed to stop. tyler wanted to look away, josh intimidating him by the second. but that _something_ was coming back, and tyler’s palms began to get clammy as his heart flipped in his chest. maybe it was the light freckles that littered josh’s pierced nose, or the black ring that contrasted to the soft pink of his lips.

tyler didn’t know.

“who is-” patrick started, his words caught in his throat as he saw josh.

he didn’t say anything, just walked closer to tyler, only to place his duffel bag on the bunk below his and walk out again, the boys trapped in an awed silence. pete spoke up after josh had left, glancing at tyler with a mortified look.

“don’t even tell me.”

“does that mean what i think it means?” patrick asked, voice weary.

“that josh...” tyler trailed off.

“he’s our fourth person.”


	3. three >><< don't worry about it

“tyler! jake is in my room and won’t leave me alone!” one of the three year olds, miriam, whined, a brush stuck in her curly hair.

tyler looked up at her from his band magazine, then to pete. he went back to reading, this article about alessia cara _very_ interesting. pete sighed, glaring at tyler and going over to miriam.

“let’s go get him out, yeah?” pete said, getting a hold of miriam’s hand.

patrick and pete had already partnered up, saying that they _didn’t want to get killed at such a young age, rest in peace tyler._

it was at that moment when tyler decided he needed new friends.

josh was the only other person who wasn’t partnered in the whole entire camp, so tyler was forced to pair with him. he didn’t mind, but then again he did. josh scared the hell out of him and the only people around most of the day were children. patrick had followed pete and miriam out the door, leaving tyler on the top bunk and reading a band magazine that patrick had.

the door opened, tyler not looking up from the waxed pages.

“did you get jake out?” he asked pete, not getting a response. “pe-”

as soon as he flicked his eyes up, he’d wished he hadn’t. josh was standing there, his hand on the knob as he gave tyler a confused look. to be honest, tyler thought it was cute how his forehead crinkled, but those thoughts were easily washed away as josh replaced his expression with the same cold glare from before, closing the door behind them.

“oh. h-hi, josh.” tyler greeted softly, going back to reading his magazine.

he peeked out from the magazine, slightly offended that he didn’t get _at least_ a small wave, but shrugged it off soon after. tyler kind of expected this.

pete and patrick soon came back without miriam, so tyler assumed that they got jake out of her room.

“tyler, we-” pete noticed josh sitting at the desk. “have to go to the dance room.” he glanced at tyler, silently asking for an explanation.

tyler shook his head and shrugged, closing his book and getting off of his bed.

“josh, you comin’ with?” patrick asked.

“might as well.” josh shrugged, following them out of the cabin.

patrick and pete, _of course,_ walked right next to each other, leaving tyler and josh a few feet behind them. josh was silent, tyler feeling his eyes burn holes through his head. he was uneasy around josh, and the fact that he walked so close to him wasn’t helping, either. tyler knew josh was staring at him, but he didn’t dare turn around to catch his gaze.

shoving his hands into his pockets, tyler continued to walk, passing groups of little kids and his old friends from last summer. tyler then remembered why he was here again, and it _for sure_ wasn’t to be scared of that really cute guy behind him, hell no.

they eventually reached the dance room, full of _children._ matty was there again, his hair up in a bun this time. he quieted the room down and began to explain what they were doing, which were introductions.

tyler’s _favorite_ part.

he hated speaking in front of people, especially the ones he didn’t know.

he was able to sit next to brendon and pete, josh across from him. josh hadn’t taken his eyes off of tyler since they got here, and tyler couldn’t tell if he was checking him out or plotting his murder. he decided to stop thinking about it and talk to brendon instead. matty left the room to go retrieve a hot potato from the kitchen.

tyler never really knew why they _actually_ boiled the potato and were so extra like that, but whatever.

“so, josh is in your cabin, now?” brendon whispered to tyler, raising his eyebrows twice at him with a smirk.

“what do you mean ‘now’?” tyler asked.

“you didn’t hear? he got kicked out of gerard and mikey’s room for being a prick. sprinkled itching powder in their underwear drawer. their poor asses.” brendon shook his head in thought.

“stop thinking about gerard’s ass.” tyler smacked brendon’s arm, earning a glare in return.

matty came back, beginning the game. tyler was tossed the hot potato first, then he passed it to brendon. within the last few seconds, pete gave tyler a devilish grin and chucked it to him, tyler frowning when he had to be the first one to speak. he sighed, getting up and holding the warm potato in his hands.

“um...i’m tyler. i’m seventeen, and i like music.” he shrugged, his cheeks involuntarily dusted pink at the sudden attention.

“tell us more!” patrick demanded, banging his fist on the floor like a child.

tyler rolled his eyes. he _really_ needed some new friends.

“no.”

“what do you like to eat?” patrick asked.

“ass.” brendon whispered to pete, causing him to laugh loudly and tyler to roll his eyes for the second time in a minute.

“i hate you guys. i like to eat pizza, that’s my favorite food.” he said quickly.

tyler looked to matty for permission to sit down, but matty just raised his eyebrows and smirked.

“i’m going to sit now.”

“no! tell us more!” pete was the next one.

“like what?” tyler said, annoyed.

“what do you think of josh?” pete asked, putting emphasis on his name for dramatic effect.

tyler rolled his eyes again, sitting down and shutting his mouth. he squinted at patrick, throwing the hot potato at him and counting down from fifty. at the last second, when tyler had the potato again, he passed it to patrick.

he knew he hated this, too, why not?

patrick tossed it next to him quickly. it was as if luck was on tyler’s side today, because it landed on josh. josh lightly sighed and stood up, straightening his jacket.

“i’m josh. i’m eighteen, and i also like music. so much that i started playing the drums when i was twelve.” tyler caught the tiny smirk josh sent to him.

but tyler was confused. josh seemed like he hated everyone, but here he was, telling the group that he liked music and smiling at tyler?

well.

“no! we wanna know more!” miriam shouted, getting yells of agreement from the rest of the kids.

brendon raised his hand like the rest of the kids, josh calling on him.

“are you single?”

“...yeah.” josh furrowed his eyebrows, confused, receiving a shrug from brendon.

“ooo! do you like boys or girls? because my mommies like girls.” dorothy, the girl with the freckles, asked.

“i like girls.” josh shrugged.

maybe these kids knew more than tyler thought.

_maybe._

about an hour later, they’d wrapped everything up and went through about fifty kids, and it was lunchtime. pete, patrick, brendon, and tyler sat together, brendon starting conversation.

“can we just talk about how josh was totally checking tyler out.” he said, biting his slice of pizza.

“he was not!” tyler defended, even though his cheeks heated up at the mere thought of josh noticing him.

“right, and patrick’s straight.” he rolled his eyes.

“why do you have to bring me into this?” patrick shot brendon a look, who just shrugged and went back to eating.

“listen, the point is, he’s scary and i don’t want to be around him.” tyler said.

“why? he’s hot.”

tyler probably should’ve stopped talking after pete tapped his finger to his mouth as a way to silently tell him to shut up.

“okay, yeah, josh is hot. _and he’s also_ _scary.”_

“what? you worried that i’m gonna kill you?” tyler froze as he heard josh’s voice behind him.

patrick shot him a wide eyed look, ducking his head and biting his sandwich. tyler looked to pete, whose expression read _you deal with that._ tyler turned around, looking up at josh. his ears were hot as embarrassment riddled him; josh had heard what tyler said.

“no! i just...i just get scared easily?”

pete scoffed, earning a glare from tyler.

“would it scare you to hang out with me? i’m bored and have no food.” josh gave a tyler a look that told him it wasn’t a question.

tyler nodded, whispering a small “sure”, and got up from the table. he turned back to his friends, mouthing for them to pray for him and followed josh to wherever he was going. tyler found himself behind the abandoned cabin on the hill near the lake, sitting down with josh in silence. josh’s presence made tyler uncomfortable, but he tried not to let it show. the last thing he wanted was to be on josh’s bad side.

if he wasn’t already.

he still couldn’t wrap his head around why josh took a sudden interest in him. it was confusing; first josh acted like he hated him, then now they were hanging out together.

“josh? not to be rude or anything but...why are we even hanging out right now?” tyler asked, curious.

josh shrugged. “i don’t know. you..you remind me of someone.”

“who?”

“don’t worry about it.”

“josh-”

“i said don’t worry about it.” josh’s tone was more aggressive this time.

tyler’s breath hitched as he looked to the ground, then back at the lake.

“i’m sorry. i just don’t have good memories of him.” josh hid his mouth in his knees, hazel eyes scanning the bright sky.

“it’s okay.” tyler knew not to pry into things like this now.

as a silence fell over them again, tyler glanced at the ground. the grass was fresh cut, the smell of it lingering in tyler’s nose. he had taken off his lavender sweater, the summer air getting to his skin. josh had taken off his jacket too, only to reveal that he had another layer of tattoos covering his arms. that added to his intense aura, and tyler really wanted to get back to the safety of his friends.

“tell me about yourself, tyler.” josh spoke again.

“what do you want to know?”

“well for starters, why do you wear such bright ass colors?”

“excuse me, but i like my bright ass.” tyler retaliated, smiling slightly as josh began to laugh.

it was like light pouring through the cracks of a cement wall. tyler could only see a little bit, but underneath that hard exterior was something more friendly and inviting. he just needed to dig deeper to get to it.

and he was determined to get there in time.


	4. four >><< ethan

it’s been a week since camp started, things were finally beginning to settle down and josh was beginning to warm up to them a little more. sure, he was still intimidating as fuck, but he could hold conversations with tyler and that was great.

“tyler! wake up!” brendon shouted, jumping on the top bunk, crouching down and trying not to bump his giant frame on the ceiling.

tyler groaned and rolled over, brendon’s ankles hitting his stomach.

“ty, come on. matty wants us in the dance room.”

tyler didn’t respond, the weight of sleep too heavy on his eyelids. he regretting staying up until 2am with patrick just to wake up at 5 every morning. patrick was up already though, chugging down his second energy drink from the vending machine.

“we’re gonna be late, brendon.” josh stated.

brendon huffed, dropping to his knees and straddling tyler. patrick watched curiously as brendon whispered into tyler’s ear, lips curling up into a smile as he finished his sentence.

“you wouldn’t dare.” tyler said, his voice deep from sleep.

“you really wanna bet?” brendon asked.

tyler decided to test him and stay in bed, only for brendon to start wiggling his fingers over tyler’s bare ribs, making him squirm and laugh. josh felt a familiar pang of jealously spread throughout his chest, subtly looking away from a giggling tyler.

he’s never wanted to punch someone in the face so badly at that moment.

tyler eventually got up, but he was _too tired to walk, someone please carry me._ he was currently being carried by brendon, his head resting on his shoulder as brendon gripped his thighs to make sure he wouldn’t fall off of his back.

tyler’s soft pink sweater was billowing lightly in the chilly breeze in the air as brendon walked, a warm-fuzzy feeling making its way to his heart. he loved this part of the country, mainly because everyday was like fall and that meant breezes and no sweat.

“tyler, you look cute today.” brendon commented, because he did. he’d always liked tyler’s fashion choices.

“so i don’t look cute everyday?” tyler asked.

“shut up.”

“bitch.”

“you love me.”

“i suppose.” tyler placed a wet, sloppy kiss to brendon’s cheek, causing him to grimace in disgust.

patrick watched the two, honestly wondering why they weren’t a couple yet. with the amount of shit they do in public, patrick wouldn’t be surprised if they came out as a couple soon.

they eventually reached the dance room, josh making sure to sit next to tyler with patrick on the other side of him. josh honestly couldn’t find an answer within himself as to why he was so interested in tyler, or _why_ he felt jealous when brendon was around.

“okay, guys. this is now the time where we assign you counsellors.” matty spoke up, making the kids stop talking.

the kids began to cheer, and tyler just sighed.

“ty, lighten up.” brendon said, poking his cheek.

“what, you don’t like kids?” josh asked.

“you do?” tyler retorted.

“well, yeah. i always have.” josh shrugged, looking up.

“i don’t like them at all.” tyler shook his head.

then, a little boy walked through the door with a bright blue backpack and a toothy grin on his face. tyler instantly lit up at his favorite kid, and probably the only kid he liked more than himself, and waved. the little boy ran towards tyler.

“uncle tyler!”

tyler smiled warmly at the boy hugging his legs, petting his blonde hair.

“hey, paul! how’s mommy?” tyler asked.

“good! she says she misses you.”

“i saw her before i left.” tyler chuckled.

“okay, maybe she didn’t say that.” paul looked at the floor.

“paul.”

paul only giggled and hugged tyler’s legs again. “i said it!”

tyler felt happy as he was talking to paul, he was literally so cute.

“okay, matty is trying to talk to us, go sit with your group, yeah?”

paul nodded, running off to a group of boys and girls in the right hand corner.

“don’t like kids, huh?” josh asked, poking tyler in his ribs.

“shush.” tyler smiled.

>><< 

tyler was blessed with a group of three quiet girls and one boy, while josh had the complete opposite. he didn’t know the first thing to do with his group, so he settled for something he knew he was good at.

“okay, guys, first thing’s first. if you’re going to be in my group, you got to dress like you’re in my group. i don’t want you over here looking like josh.” tyler stated, flicking his eyes up to josh himself.

josh rolled his eyes and playfully shook his head. tyler only smiled in return, his stomach doing flips at the sight of josh’s small smirk.

“let’s go to the field and i’ll teach you how to make flower crowns.” tyler said.

“ew, no. take them out to do something fun.” josh said.

“flower crowns are fun. there are like eighty four different types of flowers in the field.”

 _“or,”_ josh turned to his group. “we could spray paint the side of mikey’s cabin.”

his group cheered in agreement while tyler’s group stayed silent, staring at josh with curious eyes. josh looked at tyler, who was giving him the look.

“what?” he asked.

“no.”

“whatever.”

“let’s go, guys.”

tyler and josh led their groups to the field, tyler noticing the boy in the back was extremely shy and wouldn’t hold eye contact. when they’d reached the field, tyler told them to pick out the prettiest flowers they could find. the little boy only looked at everyone else and then to the ground.

he looked at josh, who raised his eyebrows and looked away, basically telling tyler to deal with it himself. tyler squinted at josh, before going over to him.

“hey.” he said softly, standing in front of the boy and bending down so that he was holding eye contact with him.

the little boy smiled at tyler. “hello.”

“what’s your name?” tyler asked.

“ethan.”

“it’s nice to meet you, i’m tyler. how come you’re not picking flowers?”

“i don’t like that stuff.” ethan shook his head.

tyler heard josh snicker, looking up at him from ethan’s head and scowling. josh raised his hands in defense before stuffing them in the pockets of his leather jacket.

“have you ever tried it?”

“no, but only girls pick flowers.”

“since when are flowers gender assigned?” tyler asked, annoyed.

yes, this _was_ a little kid, but come on.

“i don’t know.”

“don’t knock it ‘till you try it. go on, get yourself a nice handful of flowers.”

“but-”

“nope. go.”

ethan sighed, walking into the field of flowers. tyler watched as one of the girls, he remembered her name was emily, came up to ethan. she said something, making him smile and took his hand, leading him to a sunny spot with a bunch of different colored flowers.

tyler turned back to josh to see him already looking at him, tyler raising his eyebrows in question.

“you just _really_ remind me of someone.” josh shrugged, going back to watching his own group to make sure they stayed out of trouble.

“you never told me who.” tyler said.

“and i don’t plan on it. it’s nothing.” josh said.

tyler shrugged, sitting next to josh on the grass.

whatever.


	5. five >><< grey anomaly

it was friday, so that meant the whole camp gathered around a campfire and sang songs, roasting marshmallows and telling stories. there were different campfires for each group, patrick, pete, and brendon sharing with tyler and josh. tyler made sure he was late enough to skip the campfire song but _just_ early enough for s’mores. he was sitting next to brendon, leaning on his shoulder while brendon lazily drew circles on his arm.

patrick sent tyler a knowing look, earning a glare in return.

“pat! could you tell us a story?” one of the kids, juli, asked.

patrick smiled, and tyler could see that evil glimpse in his eyes. tyler loved when patrick told stories, because all he did was scare the kids.

“have you all heard about the thing in the woods?” patrick asked, his voice taking on a wispy tone.

the kids sat in silence, looking up at patrick with curious eyes.

“legend has it, there’s this humanoid being lurking in the woods around this place,” patrick looked at the woods for dramatic ass effect, “with huge, black eyes and razor sharp claws for fingers. it stalks behind the trees, just _watching._ they call it,” patrick looked into the horizon, “the gray anomaly. in fact, it’s watching us right now, i think i see it.” patrick looked behind a kid’s head, his eyes blowing wide.

the kids screamed and ran to patrick, hiding behind the log he was sitting on.

“it’s coming to us! look!” patrick pointed to the trees.

tyler furrowed his eyebrows when he actually _heard_ footsteps coming towards him, looking to where patrick was pointing. the campfire lit up the faces of ryan and dallon, two other counsellors that tyler was friends with.

“freaking heck, guys!” tyler exclaimed, realized how much of a dumbass he sounded like right now, but he sure as hell wasn’t about to be on probation for cursing in front of these kids.

“what?” dallon asked, running a hand through his hair and sitting next to brendon.

“pat was telling us a scary story!” another kid, cole, said, kicking his legs on the log.

dallon nodded and whispered in brendon’s ear, who shrugged in agreement and whispered it to tyler.

“we should play spin the bottle.”

“um, no the fuck we should not.” tyler shook his head, whispering back to brendon.

“why?”

“because no!”

brendon scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“well it’s late guys. i’m gonna take my group to their cabins. tyler, i’ll meet you in yours.” brendon smiled, walking away from the campfire and looking back at tyler, winking.

tyler turned back to patrick, pete, and josh, who were looking at brendon walk away. patrick and pete wrapped everything up, pete telling a cute little story about how him and patrick met. juli raised her hand.

“pat, are you and petey dating?” she asked, kicking her legs back and forth on the log.

“yeah, for about a year.”

“how come you’re not married yet?”

patrick smiled and shrugged, looking at his feet. “let’s go to sleep, yeah?”

patrick and pete gathered their groups and left, leaving tyler and josh at the campfire. tyler looked at josh, his heart speeding at they made eye contact through the dancing flames. his head was almost completely shadowed, the orange glow illuminating his face in a sort of mysterious tinge.

tyler enjoyed looking at his face in the fire.

“tyler, can i ask you something?” josh asked, his voice low.

“s-sure.” tyler smiled softly, getting up and sitting next to josh.

“are you and brendon-”

“no. he’s been my best friend for years.”

“okay.”

“why do you ask?” tyler looked at josh, whose features were soft as he looked at tyler.

josh shrugged, looking over tyler’s face. tyler could’ve _sworn_ he saw josh begin to lean in in just the slightest, but he pulled back.

“come on, kids. let’s go.” josh stood up and began to walk away, his four kids following him

“josh-”

“see you.”

tyler sighed, running a hand over his face and standing up.

“are you guys ready to go?” tyler asked his group.

“is joshy mad at you?” emily asked, her flower crown a little too big for her head, falling off the sides of it.

“i don’t know, em.”

“i hope not.”

“me neither.” tyler smiled, petting the top of her head.

he actually kind of liked his group and wouldn’t mind spending the whole summer with them.

“come on.”

>><< 

tyler led his group to their cabin, tyler wondering why ethan was in a cabin full of girls. shouldn’t he be in the boy’s bunk? he decided not to question it, remembering why he himself loved hanging out with girls more.

“ethan?” tyler called him back.

“yes?” the little boy had a blue flower crown on, and he hadn’t taken if off since.

“did you have fun today?”

ethan smiled and looked at the floor, hiding a smile and nodding.

“what?” tyler raised his eyebrows and smiled, poking ethan’s cheek.

“yes!” ethan giggled, hugging tyler’s legs. “thank you, ty.”

“didn’t i tell you? now go inside, get some rest. i’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

“okay, bye!” ethan ran into the cabin, closing the door behind him.

tyler began the small walk to his own cabin, the nighttime air chilly. he passed the campfires, seeing only one pit lit with gerard and mikey’s groups. it was just nine o’clock at night, but the kids had to wake up early tomorrow.

“way!” tyler shouted, causing them to look up at him. “it’s nine.”

“oh, shoot. thank you!” mikey shouted back, causing tyler to laugh. those two never could keep track of time.

he opened his cabin door, seeing josh, pete, patrick, brendon, ryan, and dallon on the floor in a circle, a full whiskey bottle in the middle of them.

“tyler! you’re back! let’s play.” brendon smiled, patting the seat next to him.

“no. how did you even manage to smuggle whiskey in here?” tyler took off his shoes, stripping off his shirt and walking towards his bunk.

he didn’t mind his friends seeing them, they already knew his story. they weren’t something to be embarrassed of, in fact, they were fading. josh, on the other hand, was more confused than ever. he wondered who did that to him, and why.

“ooo, ty. you’ve been working out?” brendon asked, raising his eyebrows and snapping josh out of his thoughts, making him avert his eyes to the bottle.

“stop checking him out.” pete said.

“that’s josh’s job.” patrick winked, making tyler roll his eyes.

“wait, you and josh are a thing?” ryan asked, looking at tyler with a confused look.

“no! oh, my god.” tyler groaned, getting his pajamas and going into the bathroom.

“you guys are so annoying.” josh said, shaking his head.

tyler shut the door, looking at himself in the mirror. the bruises on his body were fading, but they were still the most prominent reminders of what happened. they still were painful, memories that tyler had tried to keep behind the wall in his mind began to slip through the cracks. he turned around, looking into the mirror and seeing the long scar along his spine, still wondering how he even survived that.

he should’ve been dead.

he sighed, changing into his pajamas and throwing his clothes in the hamper. after brushing his teeth, he left the bathroom, climbing up on the top bunk and reading a band magazine that he stole from patrick. pete made sure to slide over so there would be a space for tyler on the bed, even though he had no intention on playing.

“wait, why are pete and patrick playing?” tyler asked.

“we’re not. just watching. we could use another player, though.” pete looked up at tyler, who shook his head.

“no.”

pete sighed, watching as brendon spun the bottle and it landed on ryan. ryan raised his eyebrows, tyler looking up from the waxy pages to see ryan blush brightly, brendon scooting over to him.

“are you s-sure? you r-really don’t have t-”

brendon cut him off by pressing his lips to his, tyler grimacing and reading his band magazine.

pete saw tyler’s face and chuckled, watching as dallon spun the bottle this time. again, it landed on brendon, but to tyler’s surprise, brendon opened the whiskey bottle and took a shot of it. dallon sent brendon the most offended look tyler’s ever seen in his life, squinting at brendon.  

tyler decided this was the most pointless game on the planet, and he wondered how his friends got so bored.

“tyler, come play! just one round!” brendon shouted.

tyler bit his lip, trying to decide if he should play or not.

“please?” brendon asked.

he rolled his eyes, putting his band magazine down. he’d rather play than have them keep asking.

“fine.”

tyler climbed down the ladder and sat right in between pete and patrick, waiting for his turn to spin the bottle. josh kept sending him glances and small smiles, and tyler still had no idea what he did to deserve these grins.

he wasn’t complaining, though.

it was josh’s turn to spin, and tyler began to get nervous. holy shit, what if it landed on him? josh placed his hand on it, and painfully slowly, he spun it. tyler watched as it began to slow down, the bottle tipping towards patrick. he sighed, looking at the bottle.

pete began to giggle. “patrick’s not playing.”

tyler’s eyes widened, looking at pete. “it’s on tyler!”

tyler licked his lips and stared at the bottle, swallowing hard. his palms began to get clammy, and _whoa,_ was his heart about to beat out of his chest. he was deciding on whether or not to excuse himself or just do it.

“ty...” he heard josh’s voice, and he looked up from the bottle only to have josh kiss him, gasping through his nose and smelling that same scent of smoke and cologne.

it took him a while, but he finally kissed josh, holding the back of his neck. josh had both of his hands supporting him on either side of tyler, shifting his head to the side. tyler felt like he was flying in whatever paradise josh gave to him, the only thing he could barely feel was him.

he knew he shouldn’t like this, josh was the complete opposite of tyler, into heavy metal and leather jackets. but something was different about josh. if only he would let tyler in.

tyler pulled back, josh taking his bottom lip in between his teeth as he did the same. he looked up at josh in shock, who just smirked and winked in return.

he touched his swollen lips and looked at pete, who was staring right back at him. in fact, everyone was staring back at him. tyler smiled out of nervousness and spun the bottle with slightly shaky hands. it landed on dallon, but tyler didn’t want to kiss him. he knew it was just a game and josh probably didn’t think of it as anything, but...he’d just feel bad.

he took a shot of whiskey instead.


	6. six >><< charlie

tyler woke up on the floor, the empty bottle of whiskey next to him. patrick and pete were stirring at their alarm clock began to go off. the noise was _so loud,_ all it did was make tyler’s head pound even more.

“pete.” tyler called, voice low and weak.

“huh?” pete’s eyes were closed.

“did i drink all this?” tyler asked, holding up the whiskey bottle.

“prob-” pete hiccupped. “probably.”

“fuck. we have to wake up.”

“i want death.” pete groaned, rolling over on top of patrick.

tyler sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. his head was congested with the beginning of a hangover, and his stomach was churning with sickness. he somehow managed to get himself ready, his lazy outfit consisting of a pink sweater over a white polo shirt and light blue skinnies. he checked himself out in the mirror one last time, and he honestly looked like shit. hopefully no one would notice.

“damn, ty.” patrick came up behind him. “you look like shit.”

tyler smiled at patrick in mock appreciation, the darkness of the room too bright for his eyes. he dug through his duffel bag in hopes to find a pair of sunglasses, and sighed in relief when pulled out pink studded shades.

“where’s everyone else?” tyler asked.

“brendon left before he could get shitfaced, and josh is already up.” pete responded, tugging on his grey jacket.

“he doesn’t have a hangover?”

“no, he didn’t drink any last night.”

“how many times did he go?” tyler asked, jealousy rising in his throat.

“i dunno.” pete shrugged. “like eight.”

“oh.” tyler tried not to let it show, leaving the cabin.

tyler separated from their cabin to retrieve their groups, knocking on the door. emily answered, her pajamas still on.

“hi, ty-ty!”

“hey.” tyler smiled, even though he wanted to nothing more than to take a nap. “are you guys getting ready?”

“yes. i like your sunglasses.”

“thank you.”

tyler waited outside for them to come out. the sky was still a navy blue, the stars twinkling right above him. the only reason he was okay with the morning was because of the sunrise, when the trees would become black shadows against the orange and pink strokes of the sky.

they were great for pictures.

he heard the cabin door open, surprised to see his group had actually taken his advice and wore pastel outfits. even ethan was wearing a flower crown. tyler would’ve said they almost looked as good as him.

almost.

“you guys look great.” tyler said, opening the door for them.

“thanks. nice sunglasses.” ethan commented.

“why are you wearing sunglasses when the sun isn’t even here?” gwynnie asked, confused.

“shush.”

tyler led his group to the dance room, sitting down by brendon and pete. he looked around the room, seeing josh next to patrick and ashley, a girl tyler had seen with a multicolored pixie cut. she seemed nice.

“tyler, why the hell are you wearing sunglasses indoors? you look like a fuckboy.” pete said, taking them off for him.

tyler squinted in the lights of the dance room, rubbing his eyes. “how do you not have a hangover?”

“patrick gave me something, i don’t know what it is.” pete shrugged.

“does he have more?” tyler asked.

“go ask him.”

tyler sighed, getting up and pushing past the crowd of little kids to patrick.

“pat.” tyler called, causing them to stop talking and look at him.

tyler briefly glanced at josh, insecurity getting the best of him as he looked to floor.

“do you have any magic pills?”

“what?” patrick asked.

“pete said you gave him shit for a hangover.”

“oh! yeah, let me get them.” patrick got up and jogged out of the dance room, leaving tyler, josh, and ashley.

“hey, you must be tyler.” ashley waved.

“hi. ashley, right?”

she nodded, her thin, red painted lips curving into a light grin. “patrick talks a lot about you. i like your look.”

“thanks, i like your hair.” tyler ruffled it, causing ashley to laugh and shoo his hand away.

tyler looked to josh, who hadn’t stopped staring at him. his gaze was intimidating still, and the second week of camp was almost over.

“josh, didn’t you want to talk to tyler about something?” ashley asked, getting up.

josh looked up at her with a _what in the fuck’s name are you doing?_ look, ashley smiling.

“about the kiss?”

tyler heard sped up at the words that escaped ashley’s mouth, watching her leave. his cheeks were tinted red with embarrassment and he glanced at josh and looked down at the floor.

“tyler-”

“ty! i found it!” patrick called, walking towards him and josh. “oh, am i interrupting something? i could lea-”

“no, stay.” josh said, causing patrick to shut his mouth.

“alright, well, here, ty.” patrick discreetly handed tyler the pills, tyler swallowing them quickly.

he noticed matty had walked into the room, leaving patrick and josh and joining pete and brendon again, just to get away from josh.

 _jesus,_ that was awkward.

>><< 

tyler and josh were left alone to their groups again, the early morning starting to get to him. he yawned, covering his mouth with his light pink sweater, his eyes scrunching up. josh glanced over at him, the _slightest_ smile curving onto his lips at tyler.

in all honesty, josh had no idea how he was feeling. he grew up in a home where all he knew was praising baby jesus and heterosexuals. things started changing around junior year, but josh would be damned if he brought that up again.

“okay, tyler’s group.” tyler said, stopping in front of the art room. “we’re doing henna and fingerpaints today.”

“ty-ty?” emily raised her hand. “what’s a hemma?” she asked.

tyler smiled, explaining what it was before looking at josh, silently telling him to find an activity and going inside.

“well, kids. you know what we’re _not_ gonna do?” josh asked, straightening his leather jacket.

“fingerpaint?” one kid, charlie, asked.

“kid, who’s group do you belong to?” josh asked, double-taking.

“yours. i think.”

josh honestly couldn’t tell either. charlie was literally wearing a black leather jacket on top of a baby blue button down and skinny jeans, and there was a floral beanie on top of his brown hair. tyler must’ve given him that choker around his neck. he honestly looked like a mix of tyler and josh, to say the least.

josh squinted at the kid.

“i think i’m going to call him josh jr.” he finally said to tyler after moments of studying him.

“but tyler jr. sounds cuter.” tyler said, thinking about this way more than he should’ve.

“josh.” josh said, not letting up.

“tyler.”

“josh-”

“-ler.” tyler finished his name right as josh did, raising his eyebrows in a challenging manner.

“josh...ler? that sounds ridiculous.” josh grimaced.

“you’re ridiculous. we’re calling him joshler, because your name is boring.” tyler stuck his tongue out at josh, who rolled his eyes in return.

“come on, josh’s group. let’s blow this popsicle stand and go to the music room or something. who wants to write songs for tyler?” he asked, the kids raising their hands.

“please keep them clean.” tyler said to josh.

“of course.” josh looked at the ceiling in mock thought before leaving the art room, holding the door open for the kids.

“okay, guys. let’s paint. should we do a theme?” tyler asked, the kids looking up at him in curiosity, and he knew he wouldn’t get an answer from them.

“alright, let’s do themes. i want you to paint for me some flowers, or trees, or birds, or something. we’re gonna put everything together and make a little garden, and then we’re gonna put it all over josh’s bed since he loves nature so much, yeah?”

“yeah!” emily cheered, tyler smiling as she was the only one who was enthusiastic about this.

that’s okay, though. it was cute.

the kids got started on their painting, splashing water from the jars on their way from the sink to their seats. tyler passed the watercolors and paper around, children eagerly rubbing their wet paintbrushes into paints and streaking them across the cardstock. tyler got started on his own painting, not sure of what he wanted to paint. he wouldn’t call himself a great artist, but he sure wasn’t shit. he decided to go with a ring of flowers, almost like a crown, surrounding two people in the middle.

he made a mental note to give this to josh, just because he knew he wouldn’t like it. he checked his phone every now and then, excitement filling his stomach as it got closer and closer to lunch. as soon as it changed to ten minutes till, he cleaned up his area quickly.

“is everyone done with their flowers?” tyler asked, making sure to remember he needed to return here to clean everything up.

most of the kids responding with a no, so tyler told them they’d come again tomorrow to finish. he led them outside, catching a glimpse of josh leading his group to the cafeteria. he looked around a few times in search of someone, but he seemed to not see them. tyler _maybe_ wanted to catch up to josh before he disappeared down the hall, quietly telling the kids to _hurry the hell up we need to go._

“josh!” tyler called, causing him to turn around and shoot him a small smile.

“hi. how was your flower art?” josh asked, a sarcastic tone to his voice.

“better than whatever song you came up with.” tyler rolled his eyes playfully.

“them’s fightin’ words.”

tyler completely forgot about his kids for a moment, looking back slightly to make sure they were all there. he did a quick head count, sure that no kids were missing, before turning back to josh. every time he looked at josh, he couldn’t shake the thoughts that came pooling back in his mind. he wanted to ask him about the kiss, but would that be desperate? would it ruin their friendship? what was there to even talk ab-

“ty, what are you thinking about?” josh asked, looking over at tyler.

“nothing.” he shook his head, deciding to save it.

“no, tell me. you look upset.”

“it’s nothing.”

josh rolled his eyes, shrugging. tyler was kind of expecting josh to ask again, but was both happy and annoyed that he dropped it so quickly. he knew he wouldn’t be babying him into telling him what was wrong, but still.

they both led their kids into the cafeteria, seating them at the correct tables and meeting the other camp counsellors by the door.

“how was your day?” brendon asked as soon as tyler sat down, looking at the plates they’d set out for both of them.

“it was good. except for when i spent it with josh.” tyler teased, looking up at him through his lashes.

“you loved it.”

“eh.”

patrick and pete watched as tyler was busy blushing and giggling into his sweater as josh kept looking up at tyler fondly, a small half-moon smile on his lips.

“do you want to go to the field?” tyler asked josh.

“if you want.” just shrugged, getting up from the table.

“okay, cool. bye, tyler.” pete rolled his eyes, shooting tyler a playful smile as he left with josh.

“those crazy kids.” patrick shook his head.

brendon was busy trying not to think about tyler actually _liking_ this guy. he wasn’t special, if anything brendon has been there for tyler more than josh has. he didn’t see what tyler found so alluring in josh, considering he didn’t even want to talk to him the first day, but each to their own, he guessed.

“brendon, you look pissed off.” pete commented, eyebrows raised as he forked a mouthful of salad.

“nah.” brendon shrugged, looking around the cafeteria to see if tyler and josh had already left.

_yup._

“it’s because tyler has a new babe. it’s okay, you know. polyamorous relationships exist.”

brendon didn’t respond, instead he decided he’d go the vending machine.


	7. seven >><< mmkay

josh and tyler walked to the bridge in silence, enjoying each other’s company and the weather outside. it was a peaceful environment, even better that it was a secluded area surrounded by trees and water. josh had found a place to sit near the water’s edge, the hill slightly slanted, but not enough to where they would fall in the lake. as tyler was about to sit down, he spotted a yellow dot wandering aimlessly near him.

“what is that?” he asked, more to himself, but josh still heard nonetheless, craning his neck past tyler to see what he was talking about.

tyler walked closer to it, cooing when he realized it was a duckling, alone and lost. he felt bad for it; it sucks when you get separated from your family. he slowly got closer to it, holding his hand out to it. the duckling blinked and moved back a few steps from tyler, who plopped down right in front of it patiently.

“come here, i’m gonna help you find your mom.” tyler smiled, as if the duckling could understand him.

it stared at him.

tyler held out both hands to try and get it to come to him, smiling widely when it waddled into his hands, circling his palms and resting in between them. it was so soft, tyler couldn’t help but pet it. it closed its eyes with tyler’s finger as he got up slowly again to try and find this duckling’s mom.

“josh, do you see any ducks around?” tyler asked, holding the duckling in his hands.

“the one in your hands.” josh said matter-of-factly.

“any _other_ ducks.”

josh shook his head, looking around the river just in case he did find any. tyler shrugged, bring the duckling back to josh and sitting next to him, plcing te duckling in front of him. the duckling sat down again, staring up at the both of them.

“isn’t it cute?” tyler asked.

“eh...” josh wasn’t really fond of animals; he didn’t like them.

“how could you-” tyler pointed at it. “look at that face. look at it.”

josh pursed his lips and looked at the duckling, and then looked away.

tyler laughed.

“you’re such an ass.”

josh gave a tiny chuckle in return, looking back at the river and basking in the natural sounds around him. silence made him think, yet the sounds of birds calling or the river flowing made him think happy things. he found himself thinking about tyler, and his clothes, or his bubbly personality. josh sometimes wondered what it was like to be so happy, and he wondered if tyler got tired of him sometimes. he was the complete opposite of him, yet, tyler seemed to enjoy his company.

he still couldn’t remember the last time he was happy like this, just being with someone and not talking.

“hey, tyler?” josh asked, breaking it.

“hm?” tyler looked to josh to give him full attention.

“can i ask you about the marks on your skin?” josh asked, turning to face him.

tyler glanced to the floor, but nodded anyways.

“who did that to you?” josh asked.

“i had this boyfriend last year, name was axel; he was handsome, but was also a huge flirt. i knew he was rich from his parents, but i never liked him because of that. other people did, though. apparently, it wasn’t wrong to mess around with other people because they like how you look, or what you have.” tyler’s voice rang soft, the ends of his sentences hushed. he didn't ever mind talking about it, but the memories still made him feel small.

“when i used to ask him about it, he’d get defensive and angry that i was in his business, and sometimes that led to arguements and...and cuts from myself, because i didn’t like how i was. i didn’t like how i let him treat me like that, but i was too scared to say goodbye, you know? if it wasn’t for brendon, i would’ve been a goner, probably.” he looked forward into the trees, remembering how brendon was there to save him from his crazy ex.

“i understand.” josh nodded, looking at tyler sincerely.

“you do?” tyler tilted his head, leaning back on his hands.

“i was the same, except with a girlfriend. the only thing is, she’d hurt herself and blame everything on me, and no one believed that she was abusive.” josh didn’t want to read into it too much, but he felt the guilt and shame rise up in the back of his throat.

“what did she do?”

“she’d make me do things that i...that i wasn’t ready for?” josh tried to stray away from the subject, hoping tyler understood.

he nodded, listening intently.

“i actually ended up going to jail. it was literally from a movie, where she’d hurt herself and make it look like i did it. she stabbed herself in the shoulder with a huge knife, and i panicked and tried to take it out, but of course when the cops came my fingerprints were all over it and she lied through her teeth.”

“how’d you get out?” tyler asked.

“friends with bail money.”

tyler nodded again, looking at the grass.

you never really know someone else’s story, so that’s why tyler tried his best not to judge josh. in a way, he was like him. he’s been through things and times he wasn’t proud of, but with the help of friends, they were able to make it.

tyler liked that.

“thanks for telling me, josh.” tyler said.

“ah, don’t get all sappy on me.” josh smiled softly, pushing tyler gently.

“it’s true!”

josh only stuck his tongue out at tyler in return, who rolled his eyes and looked at his duckling.

“hey, josh?”

“yeah?”

“why did ashley say we needed to talk about something?”

josh sighed heavily.

“there’s nothing to talk about.” he shrugged. “it was a game, tyler.”

“but how does ashley know?” he asked.

josh stared into the trees that surrounded the lake, billowing slightly. he shrugged again, tyler kind of annoyed that he wouldn’t answer him. he decided it was best to just let it go, because clearly it important to him. tyler nodded in response to josh’s question, feeling rejected, though he didn’t even say anything.

the silence meant more than a thousand words.

josh wanted so badly for tyler to stop talking, before he’d mess something up for them.

“jo-”

“look, tyler. you’re a cool person and all, but i’m not gay.”

“oh...” tyler said in mock realization. “so that’s why you played a kissing game with guys, right? mmkay.”

tyler got up from his position next to josh, taking his duckling with him and going back to the safety of their own friends. he was so stressful.

“where are you going?” josh asked, watching tyler leave.

tyler shrugged, turning the corner towards the cafeteria.

tyler looked down at his duckling, smiling softly as it stared up at him. he eventually made it to the cafeteria, his friends spotting him quickly. he waved, sititng next to brendon.

“hey, tyler.” brendon greeted. “how was your expedition with josh?”

tyler shrugged in return, not wanting to talk about it. he didn’t know what he was feeling at the moment. josh gave him weird signals; at first, it’s like he wanted to hang out with him and the next he barely spoke. maybe it was tyler, scaring people off by coming on too strong. maybe he thought he was weird, and didn’t want to be seen with him.

whatever.

he rested his head on brendon’s shoulder, who could tell something was wrong by tyler keeping to himself. he looked to pete and patrick, silently asking for help on what to do. in all honesty, tyler just needed a nap, not a talk. he was over it; if josh didn’t care, neither did he.

brendon just snaked his arm around tyler in a comforting hug, trying to make him feel better with whatever happened.

“what did he do?” pete asked.

“apparently, he’s not gay.”

pete scoffed, giving tyler a face. “he played spin the bottle like ten times.”

“that’s what i’m saying. whatever.”

matty called for the cafeteria period to end, the kids cleaning up their areas while the counselors got up to organize them. tyler slipped his duckling into his sweater pocket and did a head count as soon as his kids were lined up, and his eyes blew wide.

“charlie?” tyler called, looking around the room and not seeing the kid at all.

he looked to pete with his same panicked expression, who returned the same one after seeing tyler. he didn’t even know what he was talking about. tyler led his group to the hallway, planning on going to the music room with patrick’s group, but he needed to wait for josh first.

“i’m going to go by the cabin, i’ll see you in the music room.” tyler said.

patrick nodded, leaving the cafeteria with pete.

“okay, kids. we’re going to go look for josh, because i don’t know where he is.” tyler also hoped charlie would be in josh’s group, as he kind of belonged to them both.

the kids nodded, following tyler to his cabin. the area was mostly empty except for the occasional quacks from the duckling or the leaves rustling in the chilly breezes. he hadn’t seen josh around, but he didn’t want to call his name, just in case he didn’t want to see tyler. tyler pulled his duckling out of his pocket, looking over at the kids.

“guys, i will be right back, do not leave. hold this, and don’t let him out of your sight, okay? i’m serious.” tyler handed emily the duckling, who instantly sat down and stared at it, cupping the duckling in her hands.

the rest of the kids followed suit, and emily put the duck in the middle of the rest of the kids. tyler went inside the cabin, not seeing josh around. magazines were still left like they were last night, and bed sheets were strewn around the like they were this morning. tyler sighed, turning around when he heard the door being opened, smiling upon seeing brendon.

“hey.” he greeted.

“hi, ty. where’s josh?” brendon asked, shutting the door.

“i have no clue. i’m looking for him, our groups are together, and i think i lost a kid.”

“shit, stop lying.” brendon said.

“i’m serious! what if he’s out there with that shit patrick was talking about? in the woods?” tyler panicked, voice lowered to a whisper-shout.

“stop saying that, it’s scary.” brendon frowned.

tyle sighed. brendon could tell something was off by tyler’s voice; he looked over his best friend, who was hiding something. he always knew when tyler was upset by the way he tugged at the bottom of his sweater sleeves, or how many times he’d blink at once. it was weird, but he seemed to always know.

“what’s wrong?” brendon asked, expression changed to concern.

tyler sighed, shaking his head. “it’s stupid.”

“it’s not. tell me.”

“it’s josh. he’s annoying.” tyler frowned.

“is it because he’s confusing you with everything? because honestly, you deserve a lot more than that and he’s just wasting your time.” brendon felt like an ass, but it was true; both of them knew it.

tyler nodded, eyes trained to the ground. maybe brendon was right; maybe he deserved better. brendon opened his arms, smiling widely at tyler, who took the opportunity and hugged him tightly. if there was a better friend than brendon, let him know.

“whoa.” josh said, making the two break apart and look at him when he walked through the door. “didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“where were you? we need to go.” tyler said.

“i was looking for charlie. have you seen him?” josh asked.

“i was going to ask you the same thing. his parents are going to kill us.” tyler ran his hands through his hair, tugging at it.

fuck.

“who are you looking for?” pete asked, walking into the cabin with patrick by his side.

“charlie pettarson. he’s the kid that looks just like us. mixed together.”

he gave tyler a look, but nodded nonetheless. “i think he went home already. he wears flower crowns and leather, right?”

“yeah!”

“yup, got a stomach bug.” pete nodded.

“how come no one told us?” josh asked.

“matty said he would.” pete shrugged, jumping into the bottom bunk and relishing in the soft comforter.

tyler and josh left the cabin, meeting their groups that were waiting outside. tyler picked up the duckling that was still in the middle of the circle of kids, tucking him back in his sweater pocket. he looked up at the sky, that was now becoming a dull shade of dark yellow, indicating the sun was going to sleep soon.

“i’ll meet you in the dance room, okay?” brendon said, pinching tyler’s cheek.

tyler laughed, hating when brendon did that, but it somehow always made him smile. josh decided the lake would be more interesting, trying to find the firepit that was his and tyler’s. he’d need to know for later anyways.

tyler began to walk, glancing backwards to make sure josh was with him. as soon as brendon left, josh picked up his pace to keep up with tyler.

“ty, i’m sorry. for being a dick and saying stupid shit.” josh said, not making eye contact.

he never apologized for anything anymore, ever.

tyler shrugged. “it’s fine.”

“it’s really not. i’m sorry.” this time, josh looked over at tyler to try and read what he was feeling.

 _“alright.”_ tyler said, wanting to let go of it. “i forgive you, i guess.”

they turned the corner, guilt rising like bile in josh’s throat. he didn’t know what to do, or what to say. he was sure as shit he offended tyler earlier, and he didn’t mean to.

“look, tyler. i just want to get to know you. you’re really nice, and i don’t want to ruin us. you’re literally my only friend here. i’m sorry, okay?” josh couldn’t let up.

his entire life, he’d been lonely. even with past girlfriends and going to school, meeting up with people to hang out. they were never his friends; they all abandoned him in junior year. tyler was different. he actually understood him, and he could relate. he’s only known this guy for a few weeks, but he was enjoying himself here, especially when he was around him, and he’d be _damned_ if he let himself ruin it like how he’s ruined everything else.

tyler rolled his eyes, smiling softly and stopping, making josh stop as well and turn around, tyler quickly walking up to josh. josh’s breath hitched when he felt tyler’s arms snake his waist and squeeze him softly, making sure to keep the duckling safe in his pocket.

“i said i forgive you.” tyler said against josh’s chest, and he could feel tyler’s cheeks press against him when he smiled again.

josh let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding as tyler pulled back and continued walking. they were almost as the dance room now. josh slipped his hands in his pockets, walking with tyler to the opening of the room, almost all of the camp there. tyler spotted his usual group, glancing at josh and sitting right next to brendon. josh opted out of sitting there, knowing brendon wanted to slit his throat for some reason. he leaned against the back entrance of the dance room, waiting for matty to talk to them.

“hey, everyone!” matty called, making the kids stop talking and look at him. “how was your third week at bottomridge?”

the kids shouted a “good” at him, making him smile and his eyes squint up. he explained what we would be doing tomorrow, since it was saturday and they always did something special on the weekends. every saturday was pie day, where the kitchens would be filled with counsellors throwing pies at each other; the winner would be the cleanest person there.

tyler was _trying_ to listen, until he felt a warm spot seep into his clothes and onto his skin. he squinted, looking down at the spot to see it was near his duckling. he made a disgusted face when the warm spot spread, and his sweater was wet where his duckling was.

“are you fucking kiddin’ me?” he whispered to the duckling, who stared at him in response.

he rolled his eyes and raised his hand, waiting for matty to call on him.

“can i go change my shirt? my duckling peed on my sweater.” he said matter-of-factly.

“where did you get a duckling from?” matty asked, his expression confused.

“i found it by itself, so i took it.”

matty blinked at tyler. “oh...okay. go, then.”

he continued to talk while tyler got up from his group, walking towards the exit of the dance room, grimacing with every step as his sweater bounced on and off of his skin. he took the duckling out of his pocket, holding it in his hands until he got outside. as he made his way to his cabin, it followed him in the grass, its little, fluffy body waddling with every step.

josh, on the other hand, took this as a golden opportunity to do something other than be in this room. he liked matty and all, but he’d rather hang out with tyler.

>><< 

tyler slipped off his sweater, careful not to touch his face with the wet spot. he needed to wash this as soon as possible before it started smelling. the duckling was in the cabin, sitting down near tyler’s discarded white converse and watching him change. he went into the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth from the rack, wetting it and putting soap on it before rubbing it into his skin.

this was so nasty.

as he was drying his chest off, he heard the cabin door open, thinking it to be brendon to tell him that matty finished or something. he didn’t expect josh’s red hair and shy smile to greet him when he peeked through the bathroom door.

“hey.” tyler said, leaving the bathroom.

“hi.” josh’s eyes noticeably trailed downwards onto tyler’s body, but tyler thought nothing of it.

he was used to the stares upon seeing him shirtless. he looked up at josh with a blank expression, waiting for him to say something.

“ty, who did that?” josh said, unconsciously reaching out to touch one of tyler’s fading bruises.

“old boyfriend, remember?” 

“you never said he hit you.” josh’s eyebrows furrowed as he lightly dragged his finger along tyler’s skin, causing goosebumps to prickle at his neck from josh’s cold fingers.

who would ever want to hurt tyler?

“josh, stop. that tickles.” tyler giggled and shooed josh’s hand away, josh returning a small smile.

josh’s eyes flicked back and forth between tyler’s, both lingering in a comfortable silence with each other.

“why did you leave the dance room?” tyler asked.

josh shrugged. “i’d rather be here.”

“with me?” tyler smirked, watching as josh’s cheeks grew the _lightest_ pink.

“maybe.” josh looked towards the ceiling in mock thought.

tyler rolled his eyes playfully, going over to his suitcase and digging through it for a pajama shirt. it was almost nighttime, why not?

“hey, ty?” josh asked, leaning against the bunk bed frame.

“yeah?” he slipped the shirt over his head.

“how did you know you were gay?”

“when i was little i had a crush on this guy in first grade. i was in kindergarten.” he scoffed, thinking he was too young to have feelings for someone else at the time. “then, in high school, like freshman year? i lowkey dated a boy and when we kissed for the first time i was like ‘yup, i like dick’. pretty much.” tyler shrugged.

josh laughed at tyler’s silliness before training his eyes on the ground. his bit his lip, realizing his mistake. what if tyler asked-

“why?” tyler turned to face josh, genuinely curious as to why josh was asking.

he only got a shrug in return, sighing lightly.

“alright. i’m gonna go back.” tyler said, making his way to the window.

“wait.” josh grabbed his wrist, pulling him backwards so that they were facing each other.

honestly, fuck it.

**(A.N. again ty is shorter than jish ;))**

he let go of tyler’s wrist and used two fingers underneath his chin, heart beating fast and _loud_ in risk, and fear _,_ but he decided to test himself. he leaned forwards, tyler’s breath hitching as he was actually doing this, but he didn’t pull back. josh’s lips barely ghosted over tyler’s, chilled fingers whispering over warm skin and trailing their way to the small of tyler’s back. their lips touched softly, smiling as tyler kissed him back, making use of his hands and placing one at the nape of josh’s neck, the other on his chest.

tyler felt weird, unknowingly pulling away a bit, but josh followed tyler’s movements and pressed harder. tyler minded, yet couldn’t find it within himself to pull away for good. josh shifted his head for a better angle, nipping at tyler’s bottom lip.

it was only when josh parted to breathe that tyler was snapped back into reality, josh leaning his forehead on tyler’s.  he forgot for a moment that they were supposed to be camp counsellors, and that they were in a cabin instead of on clouds.

hm.

“are you still confused?” tyler asked lowly, remembering the whole point of that and instantly feeling bummed.

“i never said i was, i just wanted to know about you.” josh smirked, making tyler gasp.

“wow, you’re so annoying.” tyler hid his blushing face in the crook of josh’s neck, making him laugh himself. if he was being honest, it’s been a while since he’s been like this. it only took tyler to make him feel like his old self again, before changing himself to get rid of his past.

except this time, he was happy.

there was a quick knock at the door, and not even a second after brendon poked his head in. he raised his eyebrows upon seeing tyler and josh, flushing the thoughts away and remembering why he came here.

“campfire time.” he said, leaving as soon as he came.

“i’d rather not sing camp songs.” tyler said, looking up at josh.

“i’d rather not be there?”

“we gotta. come on.” tyler said, pulling away from josh and leaving the cabin with him, his memories and thoughts chasing each other in a fast-paced game of tag.

wowie.


	8. eight >><< date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A.N. hey kids!
> 
> would you hate me if i said this fic would only be like ten chapters long? it's supposed to be short but i didn't expect it to me this short dam
> 
> i'll figure something out tho, but i'll write a longer one soon :))
> 
> this is just a lil filler,
> 
> enjoy!)

 josh and tyler had put their kids in their cabins, waiting on pete and patrick before they could turn out the light. they were in brendon’s room doing something, tyler not curious to find out. if there’s one thing he’s learned at this camp, it’s to never put them together at night.

ever.

josh was in his pajamas, reading a band magazine while tyler was looking through his suitcase to figure out what he would wear tomorrow. it would probably be messy, but he still wanted to look his best. he moved towards the edge of the bed and hung his head down, looking at josh.

josh looked up and blinked at tyler, waiting for him to talk.

“what should i wear for tomorrow, josh?” he asked.

“anything.” he shrugged, not really caring about fashion. if it was clean, it was wearable.

“but, like what? a sweater?”

“yeah.” josh shrugged again.

tyler sighed, leaning back up to dig through his suitcase for any clean sweaters. he found a pink one with black trim around the sleeves and collar, setting that down next to him and looking for any bottoms. after finding khaki skinnies, he closed the suitcase and threw it over the bed, watching it burst open before tossing his clothes on top of it. he needed to sleep soon, it was almost eleven.

“tyler?” josh asked, wanting to say this earlier.

“yeah?” tyler called, settling in between his sheets.

“we should go on a date tomorrow.” josh said.

“how are we going to go on a date at camp?” tyler asked, a curious smile playing on his lips.

he hung down from his bed again, only the top of his head visible.

josh shrugged. “i don’t know. i’ll figure it out.”

“okay.” tyler said.

now he’s going on a date with josh dun tomorrow, nice. but wait-

“josh, i thought you said you liked girls? when dorothy asked you?”

“i never said i didn’t like boys, either.” he said, flipping through his magazine. “kids do crazy shit.”

“so you’re bi.” tyler said as confirmation.

“bi, pan, wavy, whatever the fuck. labels are ass.”

tyler smiled, leaning up again and lying in between his sheets.

“so what, are we dating now?” josh asked, a small smirk on his face.

“i mean, i guess. pete and patrick are going to be so annoying about it.” tyler rolled his eyes.

“not if they don’t know about it.”

“i suppose. goodnight.” tyler turned on his side and shut off his booklight, leaving josh with his own on the bottom bunk.


	9. nine >><< embarrassed

tyler and josh were supposed to go on their date soon.

tyler still had no idea how, or what, they were going to do, but whatever. it beats getting pied in the face all day by small children.

“i’m gonna finesse some food.” josh said to tyler once they were preparing the pies for the kids in the kitchen.

they started yesterday and they weren’t even halfway done with the amount matty wanted.

“you mean steal?” tyler asked.

_“finesse.”_

tyler rolled his eyes, watching josh blatantly open the fridge and take food out in front of matty and the other counsellors. he filled the insides of his jacket, turning around and seeing everyone staring at him, except for tyler, who was _dying_ of secondhand embarrassment.

“what are you looking at? i’m hungry.” josh defended, food poking out from the bottom of his jacket.

“whatever.” matty shrugged, continuing his task of making sure everyone was doing their job.

josh smirked in approval, surprised that matty let it go, but shrugged it off, looking at tyler and gesturing to the exit. he looked around to make sure no one was looking, but brendon kept glancing at josh from next to pete. tyler called him over, josh sighing and waiting with his jacket full of cold food.

“bren, can you watch my kids?” tyler asked. “i’m sorry.”

“why? so you could go suck josh off? the rest of us are actually working, here. i’m busy.”

“what the _fuck_ is your problem?” tyler whisper-shouted.

“nothing. whatever, i can.”

“thanks.” tyler said hesitantly, watching brendon walk away and wondering what the hell got to him today.

he followed josh anyways, still shaken up. that was weird, and _scary;_ brendon’s never blown up at him like that, _ever._ it scared him, because was it his fault? was he mad at josh? he felt guilt melt over his heart like acid, and the pit of his stomach felt empty. he didn’t want to be the reason brendon was pissed. what if-

“ty, what’s wrong?” josh asked, noticing tyler’s hands were folded in front of his chest as they walked. “you do that when you’re worried.”

“brendon just blew up at me.” tyler said, eyes trailing his eyes to the ground.

“well, listen,” josh stopped at their spot, sitting down and letting the food fall out of his jacket onto the floor, “i think you should talk to him. i know he doesn’t like _me,_ per say, but you’re his best friend. it must be something else. ask him tonight, when he’s calmer.”

“okay.” tyler nodded, thinking josh was right. “thank you.”

josh smiled softly, glancing at tyler and then at the food. “look, we’re having a picnic date!”

“i like picnics.” tyler smiled, appreciating the soft winds and warm sun beating down on their chilled skin.

“what can i say, i’m a psychic.”

“really? then what am i thinking right now?” he asked, challenging him.

“you’re thinking about...how much you want to kiss me. am i right?”

“there’s literally only one way to find out.” tyler rolled his eyes, making josh smile.

he decided to just go for it, crawling the tiny distance towards josh. when he was close, he just barely ghosted his pouty lips over josh’s. he hesitantly leaned forwards, josh eagerly pushing his lips onto tyler’s, sighing through his nose and flowing with him until he was underneath him, pressed into the soft grass. he softly gripped tyler’s hips, instantly falling in love with how easily he could hold onto them. tyler pressed his knee between josh’s legs, holding himself up on the other knee and his elbows. his heart was fluttering in his chest with adrenaline, as each kiss was a risk that they were both willing to take. he shifted his head to the side, getting a better angle and deepening the kiss. as their mouths became more parted and needy with want, so did their hands, and josh’s trailed from tyler’s hips to the back pockets of his khakis, and tyler lowered himself so that they were flush together. tyler trailed feather-light kisses down josh’s jaw - who released a shaky breath at the sensation - down to his throat. it was only when he continued to search for a sensitive area-

“oh, my god!”

tyler’s eyes blew wide and he parted from josh quicker than anything he’s done in his life. he scrambled off of josh, accidentally elbowing him in the stomach, hoping that somehow whoever that was didn’t see them. he looked up at the eyes of pete, who had a hand over his mouth, and the crinkles in his forehead from shock told tyler he wouldn’t hear the end of it later.

“you two didn’t even think to tell me?” pete asked, eyebrows furrowing.

“we didn’t want to! it’s no use now!” tyler’s voice was raised in embarrassment, josh propped on his elbows and watching tyler deal with it.

“well, why not?”

“just don’t tell patrick, please?” tyler asked, heart dropping when he saw exactly that turn the corner.

“ooo, don’t tell patrick what?”

tyler hid his tomato face in his hands, releasing a groan and he fell on his side, feeling the blades of grass tickling his ears and neck. he hated everything right now. it’s not even because he was dating josh, but they caught them making out and-

“okay, well i won’t tell patrick that you guys are dating, then?” pete asked, forgetting that patrick was there and gasped.

“they’re _what?”_ he asked.

“not dating! not at all! stop!” pete tried to save himself, but it was too late.

“does brendon know?” patrick asked.

“no! he absolutely cannot!” tyler shouted, voice muffled in his hands.

“why?” pete asked. “that’s stupid, he’s your best friend.”

“he hates josh and i pissed him off today and...” tyler sighed.

“well, you look like you need some alone time, so i’m gonna go. bye, ty and josh.” pete waved, wanting to leave _asap_ because it looked to him like he fucked shit up.

when pete and patrick left, josh sighed and got up from his elbows, going over to tyler.

he poked him.

“ty, come on. it’s not bad at all.”

“...”

“ty?”

“...”

josh pouted, trying to think of something. he leaned down and kissing tyler’s cheek, but that didn’t work either. he poked his side, tyler squirming. he remembered that tyler was very ticklish, so he used that to his advantage, and soon tyler was a giggling mess underneath josh’s wiggly fingers.

“j-josh! stop it!” tyler said between laughs, holding his wrists as an attempt to stop him.

“then cheer up!” josh laughed, stopping.

“what if the whole camp finds out?” tyler pouted, looking up at josh from on his back.

“then the whole camp finds out, so?”

“what if they make fun of us?”

“ty, they’re kids. dorothy has two moms, pete and patrick are dating, what’s the deal?”

“i don’t want brendon to hate you, though.”

“who cares, ty?” josh asked again, really not grasping why tyler cared so much. yeah, brendon was his best friend, but he wasn’t the one dating josh, tyler was.

“okay. okay, you’re right.” tyler ran his hands over his face, in which was slowly regaining color.

after a few moments of silence, josh tried to lighten up the mood again.

“so...i’m guessing i was right? you kissed me pretty hard back there.”

“oh, shut up.”

>><< 

tyler absolutely dreaded saturdays. the whipped cream and sweet filling was all over his face and in his hair, leaving him feeling sticky and disgusting throughout the day. honestly, why did he have to be involved?

he still hadn’t talked to brendon, but they did make awkward eye contact that made tyler want to disappear into dust, but he was here, in his cabin with pete, patrick, and josh, drying out his freshly washed hair.

“tell us!” pete said, like an excited child, sitting criss-cross applesauce on the bottom bunk next to patrick.

tyler instantly became nervous, hating being put on the spot, especially about stuff like this. he looked to josh, who raised his eyebrows and continued flipping through his magazine.

“like two days ago.” tyler shrugged, realizing it wasn’t even a big deal. they weren’t serious, who cares?

“that’s it?” pete asked.

“what?”

“i thought it happened like last week and you guys have been fuckin’ on the downlow.” pete was genuinely confused.

“wow. where’s his filter?” tyler asked patrick, who shook his head and sighed. “we just started, okay? it’s not a big deal.”

pete shrugged, unplugging his phone from the charger and scrolling through instagram to see if he got any notifications. tyler heard the squeaky door of the cabin open, brendon popping his head in.

“can we talk?” he asked tyler.

tyler swallowed, pulling up his pajama bottoms and following brendon outside, looking back nervously at josh. josh kept his eyes trained on brendon from behind his band magazine, only breaking it when he left the cabin.

“bren, if-”

brendon engulfed tyler in a hug, tyler sighing into brendon’s shoulder and melting into it. he _missed_ this kid, and it hadn’t even been a full day.

“tyler, i’m sorry. i shouldn’t have acted like a jerk.” brendon said, a tiny frown on his face.

“it’s okay.” tyler nodded, honestly just wanting to let this go. “but why?”

“it’s not because i don’t like josh, but i just don’t want you to get hurt again.” he shrugged.

“but josh won’t do anything, he’s nice.” tyler smiled.

“i know. he probably thinks i hate him or something.” he shook his head. “just...please be careful, yeah?”

tyler nodded, giving brendon a smile, who returned the gesture. he finally felt relieved, and if anything, he was grateful that brendon cared about him so much. tyler thought josh was nice, and he knew what it was like, so he doubted he’d do anything. he trusted him enough to not do something stupid like that. brendon pinched tyler’s cheek, partly as a way to make sure they were okay again despite him acting like a dick earlier, tyler giggling and shooing his hand away.

“you’re going to be there tonight, right?” tyler asked.

“yup, wouldn’t miss it.” brendon said, knowing well that there would be a lot of food involved, and brendon like food?

yes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A.N. mama aint raise no quitter im gonna finish this.
> 
> i have ideas, fuck ten chapters i'll make it longer
> 
> bUT thank you for reading! guys i just posted this yesterday and we're almost at 100 reads. i know it's not a million, but it still makes me happy that you guys are reading and seem to like it! let me know what you think, always, never be afraid to talk to me :)
> 
> -love, manda)


	10. ten >><< junior year

today was the last night of first session, so matty had a lot of things planned for the counsellors and the kids. tyler had already dressed his cutest, knowing that jenna would be here soon. they’ve seen each other at their worst, but why not?

he was waiting for josh to finish up in the bathroom, pete and patrick getting each other ready. they knew how this went already; they’d get dressed up a little bit nicer than what they’d normally wear, meet parents and new kids, and have to put on a smile for the incoming campers.

“ty?” josh called, voice muffled through the bathroom door.

“yeah?”

“do you have an extra jacket? mine is dirty.”

“i don’t have anything black.” tyler said.

“ugh, seriously?”

“nothing solid.” tyler said, remembering he brought an oversized black sweater with writing on it.

“i’m coming to get it.”

tyler heard the bathroom door unlock, looking up to see josh walking through it. tyler raised his eyebrows as he saw the tattoos that josh always had covered underneath his shirts. he noticed some black ones surrounded by splashes of colorful flowers, words, stars, geometric designs; pretty much everything scattered all over josh’s body. he was fascinated, because he’s never seen so many tattoos in real life before. they were beautiful to him, and he lightly smiled in appreciation. josh noticed this, making a face at tyler for staring at his many, _many_ tattoos, before going over to his suitcase and searching for the black sweater tyler was talking about. he grimaced at all the bright pinks and purples he had in there, eventually finding the black sweater. it was black except for the white words in the middle of it that spelled “clique”. **(A.N. yes like that _one_ drawing iss so cute!)**

josh made another face, shrugging and slipping it on over his head anyway.

“you look nice.” tyler commented, josh sticking his tongue out.

“i look like you.” he joked, tyler gasping in fake offence.

“exactly.” tyler rolled his eyes and followed pete and patrick out of the cabin, tyler and josh trailing behind them.

“we have to go talk to people.” josh said, eyebrows furrowing.

“yeah, that’s how camp works.” tyler said.

“but i don’t like people.”

tyler rolled his eyes for the second time, but if he was being honest, he’d rather not talk to people either. he was just lucky matty cut the time short so they could continue a regular camp day. he followed the jumbled voices to the dance room, filled with parents and kids. tyler groaned, josh nudging him until he put on the fakest smile he could.

he found brendon, making his way over with josh. he saw the small smile brendon sent to josh, who returned it quickly and looked at the floor.

“hey, ty.” brendon greeted, waving.

“hi. when is this going to end?” tyler asked.

“babe, you just got here.”

“and now i want to go.”

“soon, matty’s here.”

it was then tyler heard matty’s voice quieting the room down, smiling and clasping his hands together as the parents and students stopped talking to look at him.

“welcome, new parents and students. my name is matthew, and i’m the camp director here.”

tyler stopped listening, hearing this speech way too many times to care anymore. he loved matty, but this was the most boring part. his eyes drifted to the new faces of kids and parents, then to how many lights were shining in the room, then to how many slots were in the lockers set at the back of the room. soon enough, after tyler counted the number of visible tiles he could see from the floor, matty finally finished, sending the parents off to take care of their business before going home and getting ready for the next session.

tyler stayed, even when all the parents were gone, because he was expecting someone. he shyly looked around, people wondering why this boy was just standing in the middle of the room. josh saw him from his usual spot in the back, glancing at the remainder of the people before making his way over to tyler.

“hey, ty, what are you waiting for? the day is supposed to start now.” his voice was lowered, sure not to talk too loud.

“i’m waiting for my sister. she’s supposed to be here soon.” he said, looking past josh when he saw a spot of blonde hair.

“jenna!” he called, waving at her.

josh looked back and moved out of his way, jenna bounding over to him and hugging him tightly.

“hey, babe! you look so cute!” she said, rocking them side to side.

tyler smiled in the crook of her neck. “long time no see.”

“it’s been three weeks.”

“three weeks is too long.” tyler pouted.

she smiled fondly at her little brother, seeing josh awkwardly standing next to tyler. she gave tyler a look, who caught on quickly.

“oh! this is josh.” he said.

“he your boyfriend?” jenna asked, hoping she was right, otherwise it would’ve been even more awkward.

tyler looked to josh, who raised an amused eyebrow at him before glancing to the floor, tyler giggling lightly into his sweater covered palm.

“yeah.” he said with rosy cheeks.

“well, nice to meet you. i’m tyler’s sister.”

josh nodded at her, smiling shyly before looking to tyler. “i’m gonna give you time. i’ll be in the art room with our kids.”

tyler nodded, watching josh leave the dance room. he groaned as jenna gave him suggestive looks, feeling his face heat up again.

“what?” she asked.

“you’re so annoying.” tyler smiled into his hands, probably looking like an idiot.

jenna laughed, rolling her eyes. “let me go see my friends. bye, ty.”

tyler waved at her as she left the dance room, beginning to make his way to the art room.

>><<

tyler enjoyed the fresh air on the way to the room. the halls were less crowded, and the breezes billowed softly through his hair. he wrapped his arms around himself as he turned the corner, the art room in his sights. he passed by mikey way, giving him a tiny wave before opening the door to the room. josh was in the middle of the floor, both of their groups surrounding him. his eyes were squeezed shut to keep the chalk the kids were putting in his hair out of his eyes.

tyler was confused as hell, and there was chalk getting in his black sweater. he watched as emily placed her dead flower crown on top of josh’s colored hair, only opening his eyes when tyler allowed the door to shut.

“josh, what?”

“they wanted to do stuff to my hair. so i said ‘okay’. and now my hair is colored.”

tyler made an “o” shape with his mouth, nodding in understanding before turning to leave again.

“i’ll be back, i’m going to fix your flower crowns.”

he’d returned shortly with a bunch of flowers in both of his arms, an array of pastel petals underneath his chin as he tried not to let them spill. josh was still playing with the kids as tyler sat down at an empty table next to them to start on the flower crowns. occasionally, he’d glance up at josh and smile fondly. he definitely _was_ good with kids, from the squinty eyed smiles to the adorable laughs he pulled from them.

it was funny, really. josh had this hard look to him, almost unapproachable. he was one of those people that warm up to you upon getting to know them better. he almost felt special, how josh would be outgoing and his true self in front of him, yet stay quiet in front of strangers. he’s only known josh for about a month, and he could see what an awesome person he was. he didn’t know what they’d do when camp was over, but he didn’t think about that yet.

he finished josh’s flower crown, setting it next to emily’s and getting up to find ribbon in the supply closet. he found a shiny, baby blue ribbon that he felt would complement the flower stems, cutting it with stray scissors on the lower shelf and bringing it back to the flowers. he tied them around the small bunch of flowers, deciding to test josh and give these to him.

“em, i made you a new flower crown.” tyler said, gesturing to the crusty, dead one around josh’s that lost their color.

he replaced them with the fresh one he made, pink and blue flowers intertwined with smaller white ones around her head, the dark green leaves lovely on her brown hair.

“thank you, tyler!” she hugged his legs quickly before going over to josh and continue playing with him.

he brought the tiny bouquet and flower crown to josh, making sure to use the biggest flowers he could find, just to be extra. he took off the dead one and set the roses on top of josh’s soft, chalked hair, making sure to remove as much of the thorns as he could so it didn’t scratch his head. josh looked up at tyler and smiled widely, actually _liking_ this crown on his head. it was something different, and it took him back to before _her._

he rolled his eyes playfully when tyler handed him the bouquet of flowers, grabbing his wrist and pulling him down to his face. he placed a soft kiss on tyler’s cheek, making the brunette smile.

“thank you, ty.”

>><< 

night fell quickly, the camp getting ready to set out the lamps for the end of the first session. matty always liked seeing lights in the sky, and he said they were lucky the sky was clear, otherwise the stars would get in the way. tyler and josh helped their groups set up tiny lightbulbs inside of paper lamps, finishing theirs last.

josh and emily still had their flower crowns on, the color of the flowers taking on an orange tint from the lightbulbs inside the lamps. tyler held his by his chest, the bottom of his sight shadowed by the brightness of the light. he looked to matty, who stood in the middle of their campers, kids with their own counsellors.

“alright, guys. it’s been a good, good first session. i hope you all had fun, and i hope to see you next session, if not next year! thank you for coming.” he smiled in appreciation. “let’s let go of our lamps in-”

matty stopped talking, his face going blank as he stared at one of gerard’s kids. he had already let go of his lamp, watching it float up to the navy sky. tyler tried to stifle any laughs, hiding his mouth in josh’s shoulder; matty’s face was too much.

“...in memory of first session, and as luck for next session to be just as good!” matty let go of his lamp, the rest of the camp following.

some stood while others sat, looking up at the sky as lights speckled it like freckles. josh sat down, leaning back on his hands, while tyler laid on his back, head resting on josh’s lap. tyler smiled, always enjoying these nights. he loved the friendly atmosphere and the nostalgic vibes, and the weather seemed to always be perfect at night.

josh looked down at tyler, who met his eyes and smiled. tyler thought he looked good with a flower crown on, if anything, he should wear stuff like this more often. tyler decided to take josh shopping once they got out of here. **(A.N. oneshots tease)**

“ty, you’re staring.” josh said, feeling insecure as his cheeks began to warm up.

last time he was looked at like that, it was with _him_ , in junior year. his heart still swelled at the memory of him, never forgetting what he looked like. tyler reminded josh of him so much, it was hard to forget, yet he didn’t mind it, because he liked him just the same.

well, almost as much.

“sorry.” tyler looked away quickly, lips holding an inquisitive smile and he tried josh again and looked over his face once more.

“tyler!” josh laughed, nudging his shoulder.

tyler giggled along, turning himself so that his face was flush with josh’s stomach as he tried to hug him as best as he could. josh was ticklish himself, and tyler’s nose and mouth against his stomach was not helping him.

“ty, that tickles” josh had creases in his cheeks from smiling so hard.

“but i love you!” tyler joked, nuzzling josh further.

josh laughed again, making tyler do the same. he felt carefree in this moment, being here with tyler underneath the glow of lights disappearing into the night sky. he couldn’t ask to be in a better position, and he couldn’t ask for a better person to spend another month with. they were complete opposites, but somehow josh came to really like him, even after being convinced something like last time would never happen again. he’s only known tyler for a month, but it was like he was one of his best friends, and he loved it.

josh’s smile softened a bit as he looked at tyler again, who had his eyes closed and was just laying there, enjoying josh’s company. he slowly ran one of his tattooed hands through tyler’s soft hair, who opened his eyes again to look at josh.

“what?” he asked, eyebrows raised in question.

josh shook his head out of nonimportance.

“no, tell me.” tyler sat up, shifting so that he was next to josh, with the lamps still visible, but barely.

josh sighed.

“in junior year, i had a best friend. we were polar opposites; he was really outgoing and his personality was perfect. he would always make me forget about what was happening at home, and almost every day we would go on an adventure somewhere. we went to a forest? if i remember correctly. and he told me he liked me as more than a friend, and i just decided to try it. turns out i liked guys back then, too, and we become official in about a week? my parents never found out, jesus, but all of my friends knew and they were really supportive. we were about to hit six months until i got the call that um...” josh sighed again, looking at the floor. “he got in an accident? and didn’t make it. but you remind me of him. he showed me a completely different world, and i loved him a lot.” he shrugged, surprising himself that he spoke so much about him.

“awe, josh.” tyler pouted.

“no, it’s fine. and don’t tell anyone i told you that, i gushed a little bit.” josh folded his arms over himself, looking at the last bits of lamps move across the sky behind the clouds.

tyler nodded, gaze trained on the floor. he was happy, that he reminded josh of someone who made him happy. that meant he was doing it right, right?

he sure hoped so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A.N. update!
> 
> gUYS DON'T WORRY OK IM STILL WRITING BUT IT'S SLOW BC IM PREPARING FOR A LOT OF TESTS BUT I HAVE A CHAPTER READY I'LL TRY TO FINISH FOR Y'ALL TODAY! 
> 
> :)))
> 
> -love, manda 
> 
> p.s. GUYS WERE AT 300 HITS IN LIKE A WEEK BLESS I LOVE ALL OF Y'ALL)


	11. eleven >><< cruz

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A.N. I AM BACK
> 
> okay honestly
> 
> guys i'm really sorry i'm taking such a long time with these updates, i know i say it every time but right now it's spring break for us and testing is literally two days after it ends, ya girl aint tryin to fail her tests
> 
> but who cares the point is updates will be slow ONLY CUZ i'm studying 
> 
> HOPEFULLY YOU GUYS UNDERSTAND, BUT I AM STILL WRITING :))
> 
> enjoy, kids)

tyler walked into the dance room, ready to start the second session. jenna was next to him, looking around to find her group of friends.

“i’m going to go,” she spotted them quickly, “i’ll be around, though.”

tyler nodded, eyes frantically scanning past unfamiliar faces in hopes of seeing at least _one_ person that he knew. he didn’t want to be left alone, and he _most definitely_ didn’t want some stranger to come up to him. he sighed in relief as he saw brendon’s floppy hair bounce as he waved at tyler, gesturing for him to come over.

“hey!” tyler hugged brendon tightly, his cologne filling his nose.

brendon kissed the top of tyler’s head with a dramatic “muah!”, pulling back. “are you excited?” he asked, a happy ring to his voice.

“no!” tyler said with enthusiasm, that way brendon couldn’t call him out on it.

he made a face at him anyway, looking over at pete and patrick as they approached.

“group hug!” pete called, brendon pulling him in again as he got smushed between pete and patrick.

“the gang’s all here.” tyler smiled, voice strained. if he was being honest, he was happy to be spending another month with these people.

“where’s josh?” pete asked, searching the room for him.

tyler looked around the room, turning completely behind him to see josh walk through the door. he walked forwards, toward his usual spot, as he still hadn’t noticed tyler yet.

“josh!” he called once he was in ears reach.

josh looked over, his eyebrows raised in confusion. they quickly dropped as his mouth parted into a smile, feeling happy that tyler was here. he jogged up to tyler and bent down, wrapping his arms around his waist and nuzzling into the crook of his neck.

he hadn’t seen this kid in three days.

tyler yelped as josh picked him up, his feet _completely_ off of the ground.

“josh! put me down!” tyler said through giggles, hiding his face in josh’s soft, pink hair.

 “you guys are disgusting.” pete said, making tyler roll his eyes.

josh set him down, his arms still around his waist. tyler looked around, sure that no one was looking at them before he stood on his tippy-toes and placed a soft kiss to josh’s lips.

“how are you?” he asked, just to ask, voice soft with fondness.

“i’m good now.” he smiled, making tyler’s stomach erupt in butterflies as his pink lips stretched across his teeth.

he pulled away from josh when matty quieted down the room, clasping his hands together again. tyler squinted, noticing his eyes seemed to be puffier than normal. it was almost like he’d been crying.

“hey, guys!” he said, smiling, though tyler could tell it was fake. something was wrong. “this is short notice, in fact, i just got told today. um...i’ve been director here for about four years, and i can say i’ve never had as much fun as i’ve had at this camp.”

tyler’s heart sunk into his stomach.

“but duty calls, and unfortunately, i need to leave. i’m moving on to a different camp for protocol reasons, not because i don’t wanna be here. i’ve done everything i can to try and stay, but i cannot. i thank you all for being a part of this camp, and making it one of the best things i could’ve experienced. don’t worry, you’ll have a new director coming in shortly.” matty tried his best to smile, though tyler could see how the ends of his mouth curved into a frown, making it look forced.

what the hell?

the room fell silent, everyone experiencing the same shock tyler was feeling. he looked to pete and patrick, who had the exact confused expression he had, following matty’s path out of the door. he needed to find out what was happening.

he shut the door quickly as soon as he entered matty’s office, making him turn around in surprise.

“matty, what the fuck?”

he only sighed in response, running his tired hands down his face and sinking into his chair. tyler kept silent, leaning against the door and studying matty with furrowed eyebrows, waiting for an answer.

“the camp leader...he’s homophobic. he’s sending me to a different camp.” matty’s voice was small, and shattered, and it made tyler feel the same.

the air in tyler’s lungs collapsed as he thought about what this meant for everyone. a new director, in which they knew nothing about; matty’s leaving, the only person who most of the camp actually liked; leaders that hate gays?

isn’t it 2017?

tyler shook his head, deciding to give matty time, as he still hadn’t looked at tyler from behind his hands. he left the room, feet _pit-patting_ on the tile underneath him as he wanted to make it to josh before the new director showed up. he let the ends of his knitted pink sweater sleeves fall down his hands, wrapping his arms around himself as he made it to the dance room, meeting josh’s still worried gaze.

“did you hear?” brendon asked just as tyler was going to tell them.

“i’m so shook.” pete said, eyes trained on the ground in thought.

patrick just stayed silent, his focus on whatever _numbnut_ walked through that door to replace matty. tyler had all sorts of worries now, mainly how and when he would be able to see his friends, and josh. what if something slipped while the director was around? he looked to the ground, lightly tugging the bottom of the flower crown on his head in nervousness. it was like time had slowed, either that or it just seemed like forever until brendon spotted an unfamiliar face enter the room.

“is that him?” brendon asked.

tyler looked over, a young guy, maybe a little bit older than josh, was adjusting his collar before he opening his mouth to speak. he had shaved blonde hair, except for the bit on the top of his head that was longer than the rest. he was attractive, his jawline sharp and thin lips sat atop of a dimpled chin. his icy blue eyes passed their way along the faces of camp counsellors and children, mouth curling into a cocky half-moon smile.

“good morning, everyone. my name is cruz, and i’ll be your director from now on. hopefully, you could warm up to me. every day will carry on like normal, just without matty here. it’s almost nine o’clock, you should know who is in your groups already.” he nodded, fingers chained-linked, almost like matty would do, as he left the dance room.

“...he seems nice?” tyler tried.

“he hates the gays.” brendon deadpanned.

“matty said the leader did, not the director.”

“so then why the fuck did they get rid of matty?” brendon asked.

tyler shrugged, turning back to josh. “he was wrong, we have thirty minutes until we need our kids. i’m going to go back to the cabin.”

tyler left the dance room to try and relax, pete and patrick doing the same. josh leaned against the lockers in the back of the room, waiting for the breakfast bell to ring, looking at brendon to see if he would say anything again.

he just made quick eye-contact with him before sighing tiredly and leaving the dance room, too. well, josh wasn’t about to stay here by himself, and suddenly he needed a nap in his cabin.

>><< 

josh opened the cabin door quietly, tyler looking over when he heard the soft squeaks of the hinges.

“hi.” he said from the bottom bunk, flipping through patrick’s new band magazine.

“hey. are you good?” josh asked, making his way over to the bed and sitting down at tyler’s feet.

“no. we’re so fucked.” tyler shook his head, scanning over an article about troye sivan.

“maybe it won’t be so bad. he hasn’t done anything, yet.” josh shrugged, running his hands through his hair.

tyler shrugged, flipping through the page again. the less he thought about it, the less he cared. maybe josh was right. maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

josh was just sitting here, though, bored. he thought tyler would be more talkative, but he was nose deep in a magazine about band people. he looked back over at tyler, who had flicked his eyes back to the pages quickly in hopes that josh hadn’t caught him staring.

“what?” he asked, facing him.

tyler shook his head in nonimportance, flipping a page. josh sighed, seeing the part in tyler’s legs as a perfect opportunity to lay down. he maneuvered so that he was laying on his stomach, cheek pressed against tyler’s navel, arms threaded between the space of the bed frame that tyler was leaning on and his back. tyler chuckled through his nose, looking down at josh from underneath the magazine.

“josh, what are you doing?”

“i am bored.” josh said, resting his chin on tyler’s bellybutton to look up at him.

“what do you wanna do?” tyler asked, setting the magazine down next to him.

josh shrugged, having no idea, and laid his cheek back down on tyler’s tummy and closing his eyes. tyler rolled his own, making use of his hands and running them through josh’s hair, smiling in appreciation at the pastel strands. josh smirked in thought, putting his mouth on tyler’s navel and blowing a raspberry, tyler giggling and nudging at josh.

“stop that!” tyler said through laughs.

“but i love you!” josh shouted like a child, crawling up tyler’s entire body and engulfing them in a hug, as if he were a koala.

“you’re so annoying.” tyler rolled his eyes, holding josh close as he was clinging to him.

he couldn’t help but smile, though. josh was adorable.

>><< 

tyler went into the dance room to meet his new group, and was again blessed with the same people from last session, but instead of ethan, charlie was back and officially in his group. tyler smiled in adoration, mainly because his group remembered and they were _completely_ dressed in pastel colors, and because josh was in the back of them talking to charlie.

“so you decided to switch over to the dark side, i see.” josh said, ruffling his hair and noticing his oversized, light blue sweater.

“no, i just like ty-ty.” charlie shrugged.

“you don’t like me?”

“i like you, too!” charlie said quickly, hugging josh’s legs so that he wouldn’t feel left out. charlie hated when that happens to him back at school.

josh chuckled, patting charlie’s back. he glanced up to see tyler with a smile and a dramatic hand over his heart. he looked like a mom.

“oh, shush.” josh said, rolling his eyes. “let’s go make some music, kids.”

josh and tyler’s groups followed them out of the dance room, walking behind them so they’d know if anyone went missing. tyler was _trying_ to enjoy the warm weather, now that it was july here, but josh _had_  to do it.

he had to slip his hand into tyler’s and intertwine their fingers together, and lightly swing their hands back and forth, as if there wasn’t a care in the world.

tyler looked to josh, who had his other hand in his jacket pocket and looked up, pretending like nothing was happening. this was the first time they’d held hands before; it was nice. tyler was nervous, to say the least, as he stared at their connected hands. they’ve been dating for a month now, but tyler still got butterflies at the sight of josh’s smile, and he felt all bubbly when he was around. he was beginning to like josh a lot, mainly because he was probably the sweetest guy _ever_ , but because he was different than everyone else. tyler liked his friends, sure, but josh was _something else_ , something completely different that he was just beginning his open up his mind to, and tyler always looked forward to the adventures they’d take together. he always knew josh would find something new to do, and that’s why he liked him so much.

he’d never say anything, though.

as they reached the music room, josh kissed the back of tyler’s hand quickly before letting go and opening the door for them, following them inside.

“grab some instruments, we’re gonna make music.” tyler said, going over to the guitars and searching for his ukulele that he left here last summer. he keeps it behind a shit ton of other stuff, just in case someone was to see it.

he lit up at the familiar wood, grabbing it and joining the group. josh had gotten a toy snare drum, tapping it experimentally with a drumstick and nodding in approval when it sounded okay.

“alright, let’s get in a circle, yeah? i’m gonna play a tune and josh is going to drum on the toy thing, and we’ll sing whatever comes to your mind, okay?”

just as tyler’s kids were about to sit down, the door to the music room opened. he turned around, because only he and josh were supposed to have the music room for the day, but his curiosity faded when he saw cruz walk into the room, papers in his hands.

“can i speak to you two for a minute?” he asked, smiling fakely at the kids.

tyler looked to josh, an unsettling feeling following cruz around, before setting his ukulele down and walking out the door.

“you two can’t be together anymore.” cruz outright said.

“what?” tyler asked, not sure if he heard cruz right.

“i’m changing the groups around, and it seems you and josh need to split up. there’s too many counsellors together at the moment.”

josh blinked at the guy. it was just him and tyler, what the hell?

“why do we _need_ to split up?” josh asked.

“it’s just the two of us.” tyler said, not understanding why this was necessary.

“only one of you, now. tyler, i’m gonna need you to take your kids and go to the art room, you’ll be there for the day.”

“but-”

“it’s protocol.”

tyler sighed in defeat, watching cruz write on his papers as he walked away and turn the corner. his brown eyes dropped to the floor, even _more_ worries floating around in his head.

“at least we could see each other in our cabi-”

“oh, that reminds me.” cruz called from down the hallway, walking quickly over to them, still flipping through his papers.

“josh, you’ll be bunking back with mikey and gerard, tyler’s cabin was only supposed to have three people.”

“wh-”

“it’s protocol.” cruz said, walking away again.

tyler wasn’t even upset, he was just confused. protocol for what? how is this mandatory?

“well, nevermind, then.” josh raised an eyebrow as he slipped his hands in his pockets, leaning against the wall by the door.

“this is the fuckin’ worst. it’s gonna suck.” tyler nodded, sighing heavily and opening the door to the music room.

“okay, tyler’s group. we’re going to be moving out.”

“ty-ty, why are we moving away from joshy?” emily asked, looking up at him.

“apparently, it’s protocol.” tyler gave her a tight-lipped smile.

emily nodded, following the rest of the kids out of the door and waiting outside for him.

“i’ll see you at lunch, okay?” tyler asked.

“alright.” josh looked at the floor, bummed about spending the rest of the day by himself and sleeping in the ways’ cabin.

he liked them and all, but he didn’t ask for this.

he softly kissed tyler’s cheek, smiling at him as he left the room, waving back at him as he turned the hallway with his kids behind him.

he never did come back for his ukulele.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A.N. thank you for reading! tell me what you think!
> 
> ik i said no conflicts, oops
> 
> hehe 
> 
> -love, manda)


	12. twelve >><< oh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A.N. hey guys! quick thing:
> 
> HOLY FREAKING FRACK I'VE BEEN LISTENING TO LIKE ALTERNATIVE INDIE SONGS AND WOWIE DO I LOVE THAT GENRE
> 
> SO I HAVE A QUESTION FOR JU
> 
> if you know of/listen to songs that sound like these:
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/user/mandy653/playlist/6jcbW0ECO8pnjRfDQkCn8i
> 
> ((that's my playlist of songs i love love love, i know you could use magicplaylist and make another playlist, but i wanna hear songs y'all like, too.))
> 
> and tbh if you have any favorite songs, tell me! new music is the best!
> 
> but anyways, enjoy!
> 
> P.S i feel like i should slide unecessary smut in here somewhere but idk it might ruin the story/be really bad 
> 
> have y'all read my older smuts 
> 
> Y O I N K E S)

tyler sat down at his usual table, brendon, pete, and patrick all in terrible moods.

“did he split you up, too?” tyler asked pete and patrick, both of them nodding.

“he put me by myself.” pete grimaced.

“same.”

tyler heard ruffling, looking at the source to see josh sitting down in the empty space near him. tyler smiled softly, leaning his head on josh’s shoulder as he wrapped him in a quick side hug.

“how was the hour without me?” josh asked.

“shit. i didn’t know what to do with the kids so i just told them to make clay flowers. clay smells disgusting.” tyler grimaced.

“music was pretty bad, too. we made songs with a bass and toy drum, but you know who was playing both?”

tyler giggled, imagining how messy josh was with the instruments. he really wished he was with him again, it was almost like he didn’t know what to do without him there. he didn’t, if he was being honest, normally they’d rely on each other to come up with ideas.

this sucked.

“but at least we have lunch toget-”

“tyler, brendon! just the guys i wanted to see! since some counsellors didn’t come this session, and some workers are sick, i’m going to need you two on kitchen duty.” cruz’s _annoying_ voice sounded from next to their table, like he just magically appears whenever josh tries to look at the bright side of things.

now tyler was on kitchen duty?

“what the f-”

“lunch starts in an hour, get your hairnets on and we’ll go from there.”

“a hairne-”

“it’s protocol.”

tyler’s mouth was agape in silent rebuttal and disbelief. he watched cruz walk away, flipping through the papers on his clipboard and talking to other counsellors. the table fell silent except for the sigh that escaped josh’s mouth.

“fuck!” he banged his fists on the table before leaving the table and walking away from the cafeteria.

he was frustrated, and _upset,_ because he didn’t know how to fix this. when would he even see tyler? would he even see everyone else? they were supposed to go through the day together, now cruz is splitting everyone up because it’s _protocol?_

he’d find a way to get around this.

>><< 

tyler blew a raspberry at the empty pots and pans on the stove already, arms crossed in front of him. he looked like he belonged on the front of a syrup bottle in this ugly apron and hairnet. it was messing up his quiff and it smelled like latex. brendon had the same expression, waiting for cruz to tell them what they needed to do.

“okay, guys!” _speak of the devil._ “for kitchen duty, you’ll just be making the kids lunch. whatever you want.”

“but we don’t know how to cook.” tyler furrowed his eyebrows. what if he accidentally poisoned the kids?

“sure you do! i’ll have the staff clean when you’re done.”

brendon gave tyler a “what the fuck?” look, tyler shaking his head in confusion.

“what do we give them?” tyler asked, beginning to get frantic.

he can’t even boil a pot of water without it burning out, the most he could do is crack an egg, and even _then_ he got shells in it. tyler ran to the refrigerator, feeling panicked, pushing past containers and bags of food before finding chocolate in the back of the fridge. he grabbed it, opening it quickly.

“you’re going to give them chocolate?” brendon asked.

“no! it’s for me!” tyler took a giant bite, trying to calm down. “i’m flipping the fuck out!”

“ty, calm down. it’s okay, we will find something.”

“i hate cruz!” tyler said, taking another bite of the chocolate. he was beginning to feel better, but he still hated cruz.

“why are you so stressed?” brendon asked, finding a pack of white bread in the cabinets.

“because i’ll never see my boyfriend again? and i’ll probably get fired and the kids will hate me because they liked josh, too!” tyler tugged at the hairnet covering his hair. “i’m not even wearing my freaking flower crown!”

“ty, chill. you can’t get fired from camp.” brendon said with a slight smile. he was kind of amused in all honesty. “just eat your chocolate and help me make these sandwiches. kids love sandwiches.”

“okay. okay.” tyler nodded, setting down his chocolate and grabbing two slices of bread from the pack.

he made a sandwich with the nutella brendon found, blinking at it. brendon noticed this, knowing tyler was a stress-eater, and he knew how on edge he was about this.

“tyler, don’t. do _not.”_

tyler swallowed, taking a bite of it anyways. the nutella was spread on the side of his mouth, as he maybe put a _little_ too much, taking another bite of the sandwich.

“ty, you actually suck.”

“i’m sorry! i’m so stressed.” tyler said through a mouth of nutella.

“don’t be, we will figure this out. now help me!”

tyler groaned, making another sandwich and setting it to the side. they eventually finished for the kids, which took more time than expected considering there were less kids than last session, maybe a little more than half. brendon slumped by the refrigerator, never doing that much work in his life.

tyler continued to eat his nutella sandwich, cruz walking into the kitchen.

“good, i’ll go pass these out.” he smiled, taking the container of sandwiches and exiting the kitchen.

tyler stuck his tongue out at him behind his back. he took a paper towel and wiped his mouth free of nutella, his sandwich in his hand.

“brendon, what am i going to do about not seeing josh? it’s almost like he’s splitting the couples up.”

“okay, now you’re being paranoid.” brendon said.

“i’m serious! he only split me and josh, and pete and patrick.”

brendon rolled his eyes, taking off his apron and hairnet. “screw this, i hope i never do it again. i’m literally sweating.”

tyler followed suit, trying not to get nutella everywhere. he felt arms snake around his waist as he was lifted from the ground. he gasped in surprise, smelling the same cologne that josh always wears.

“josh, put me down!”

“but i love you!”

“what’s up with you always picking me up?” tyler asked once he was back on the ground, turning to face his boyfriend.

“you’re smol.”

“i’m what?”

“smol.”

tyler gave him a look, not knowing what that meant. josh rolled his eyes, taking the half-eaten sandwich out of tyler’s hand and taking a bite of it himself, nodding in approval.

“who made this?” josh asked.

“i did.” tyler pouted, making josh’s eyes squint up as he tried to smile through a closed mouth.

“it’s good.” he kissed tyler’s forehead, finding an empty spot on the metal table to sit on.

“josh, people handle food there.” brendon said, making a face.

josh shrugged. “if you could call it food. this bread tastes artificial. we need to start our own camp or something, this is lame.”

“yeah, one without cruz.” tyler folded his arms in front of his chest.

“what about me?” cruz, one again, popped his head through the entrance of the kitchen, his eyebrows raised in question.

“just that your new changes are great for bonding.” brendon smiled, making cruz return the gesture.

“well, i got to do what they tell me to. josh, why are you back here?” cruz noticed him.

“you skipped me. i came to get my sandwich.” josh held it up to show cruz, getting off of the table and walking out the door. “bye, ty. brendon.”

tyler waved at josh as he turned the corner past cruz. he sent them both a look.

“you need to keep separated. i could get in trouble if you two are together.”

tyler subtly rolled his eyes and left the kitchen as well, preparing to spend another two hours by himself and his kids.

he _hated_ cruz.

>><< 

it was nighttime, the first day of second session ending.

tyler was sat by himself, hands resting on his knees and he stared into the crackling orange flames. he knew he was being boring, and he knew his kids were tired and wanted josh back; all they asked was-

“ty-ty, when will joshy be back?” this was the fourth time charlie had asked.

“i don’t know, charlie.” tyler said tiredly.

this wasn’t even that deep, but he hated the reasoning and he couldn’t understand why it was necessary. he barely saw his friends here, but now he couldn’t hang out with josh either. he sighed, running his face down his hands.

“why so down?” josh asked, throwing his legs over the spot right next to tyler as he sat down, his kids filling in the space near him.

tyler group shouted josh’s name and ran up to him, jumping on him to see who could hug him first. josh was taken by surprise, wrapping his arms around all of the kids as he giggled. they were so sweet, awe. tyler smiled in adoration, remembering why he needed josh with them.

“josh, you can’t be here.” tyler said, realization and worry setting in that cruz would come for them.

“cruz never said we could have campfires together. pete and patrick are coming, too.” josh smiled.

tyler lit up at this, because josh was right, and because he’d be bringing his friends. he knew brendon would be here, soon, but he was probably with dallon and ryan. he never knew what was happening between the three of them, but he would find out some day.

josh scooted closer to tyler as the kids got off of him, noticeably happier as they sat on the bench. he threw his arm around tyler’s shoulders, placing a kiss on his head. it’s only been three hours since he saw him, but he was better now that he was here.

“tyler, i missed you.” josh smiled softly, resting his head on tyler’s.

“me, too. it sucks without you around.” tyler shrugged.

“we sound disgusting.” josh grimaced jokingly, tyler smiling.

“you love it.”

he only rolled his eyes in return, waving at pete and patrick as they showed up, but without their kids.

“where are your groups?” josh asked.

“they were tired early for some reason. like, every single one of them.” pete said, sitting down with pete on one of the benches.

“i’m tired, too.” emily yawned.

“what time is it?” tyler asked, josh checking the time on his phone.

“only eight.”

tyler raised an eyebrow at this, but stood up anyways. “are you guys actually tired?”

his entire group nodded, and charlie was literally falling asleep on emily’s shoulder. tyler carefully picked him up, charlie instinctively hugging tyler as he kept his eyes shut. this was new to tyler, and he normally didn’t like being near kids at all, but here he was, carrying charlie with emily on his back, hunched over slightly so she wouldn’t fall. the other two kids were clutching onto the ends of tyler’s sweater as he walked them to their cabin.

josh watched from the campfire as tyler giggled at emily, who was playing with his flower crown and laughing at something from on his back. he was trying not to let her fall while still trying to support charlie, and it didn’t help that it was nighttime, and tyler’s voice always fell soft when he was tired.

josh couldn’t get over how much of a good person tyler was, it was like he didn’t deserve him. he didn’t deserve someone to be so warm to him, even when he was cold the first time they met. even after that, tyler still came back to him even when he tried to push him away. he didn’t deserve the happy smiles and laughter and he didn’t _deserve_ to be treated the way tyler treated him, even if he was being an ass. he was still trying to piece things together, still trying to mend himself, yet tyler seemed to help that sort of thing come quickly.

maybe _that’s_ the reason he needed tyler with him everyday. maybe tyler was the reason he hadn’t gotten lost in his thoughts, even the ones all the way back from junior year that threatened him. he was the best, and josh couldn’t figure out how to repay him for it.

he’d do it someday, though.

pete and patrick looked at each, josh’s gaze saying more things than he realized. they held a silent conversation, pete shrugging as patrick raised his eyebrows in question. he thought about it, then frowned, not seeing a reason they shouldn’t.

“josh?” pete asked, trying to get his attention.

he was still watching tyler walk down the walkway towards the kids’ cabins.

“josh!”

“huh? what?” josh asked, eyebrows furrowing.

“so, tyler.”

josh instantly became awkward. “what about him?”

“do you like him?”

“of course. a lot.” josh said quietly, shrugging. he was never good with these kinds of things.

“do you love him?” pete teased, dragging out the “love” in a singsong voice.

josh didn’t answer, mainly because he seriously didn’t know. he’ll admit, he felt something strong, almost like he was back in junior year again. but he didn’t want to feel this way, in case he managed to fuck something up for them and ruin everything they had. he didn’t want to get _too_ close, but he couldn’t help but feel the same way.

“i like him a lot.” josh shrugged again. “stop asking questions, you’re making me nervous.”

pete smiled and rolled his eyes before laying down on the bench, feet reaching the one next to them. he rested his head in patrick’s lap, sighing contentedly.

“our camp’s turning to shit, but at least the sky looks cool.”

josh looked up, looking over the sky. trillions of stars were scattered brightly across the dark grey sky, the last few remnants of the sunset casting a faded purple shadow behind the black silhouettes of the forest. pete was right; the camp was kind of shitty for now, but the sky was beautiful tonight.

tyler startled him, plopping right next to him and rubbing his neck. he saw josh jump, mouth growing into an amused smile.

“did i scare josh dun?”

“no!” josh frowned.

tyler rolled his eyes, resting his head on josh’s shoulder and following his gaze to see what was so interesting up there.

“what if i told you that you were the moon?” josh asked after a small moment of silence, pointing to the full moon shining by the trees. **(A.N. life is good tease)**

“i’d tell you to shut it, because _you’re_ clearly the moon.”

“and then i’d tell you to that you’re the moon because you _light up my life.”_

tyler actually laughed at that from how corny it was. “and then i’d tell you that the joke was really bad.”

“and then _i’d_ tell you that you love my jokes.”

“eh.” tyler kissed josh’s cheek quickly, feeling himself get tired by the minute, but he still tried to stay awake.

it was too early to sleep.

he was tired because of all this extra work he had to do today. see, if matty was here, he would be relaxing with josh and making songs in the music room and trying to make cute crafts in the art room, but he was by himself and making thirty sandwiches for the kids. not that he minded the kids, but he was _tired,_ jesus.

they were out there for another hour, talking to each other about everything and nothing until the bright orange glow of the fire turned into a dull amber glimmer from beneath the wood. tyler fell silent after a while, and after not responding after pete asked him a question, josh looked down at tyler, noticing his eyes were closed. he heard the soft breaths escaping him after making sure he wasn’t dead, sighing.

“i’m going to go, then. i’ll see you guys tomorrow?” josh asked, slipping out from underneath tyler.

he was groggy, eyes half open after the loss of support underneath his head. he sat down, trying to gain more energy to walk himself to his cabin.

“yeah, i’ll see you.” pete said, patrick following him away from the fire after waving to josh and tyler.

josh saw how tired tyler was, yawing into the sleeves of his sweater that fell past his hands. he turned so that his back was facing tyler and bent down.

“get on, loser.”

tyler smiled tiredly, slowly wrapping his arms around josh’s neck and hopping on his back, josh supporting tyler’s legs as he carried him to his cabin. tyler rested his head in the crook of his shoulder, closing his eyes again. they went on their journey in complete silence, josh enjoying the crunches of grass beneath his feet and the chirps of grasshoppers and the tiny snores from tyler as he made his way to the cabin on the left of the pathway. he opened the door, walking through and seeing pete and patrick in their beds, looking over at him. brendon was there, too, and he suddenly felt sad.

he liked it better when he was with these people, in _this_ cabin. he shot a small smile at them, setting a sleepy tyler down. he groggily took off his jeans and collapsed in his bed, pulling the covers over his body.

“i’ll see you sometime tomorrow, okay?” josh said, tyler nodding, his eyes closed.

josh waved at pete, patrick, and brendon, leaving the cabin.

tyler didn’t know if josh caught the sleepy “i love you” as he left, drifting off to sleep.


	13. thirteen >><< fools rush in

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A.N. hey guys! listen to me,
> 
> music is so great, like whoever created it/the concept god bless u
> 
> but anyways,
> 
> enjoy!)

it’s been a week since cruz came, ruining tyler’s life.

okay, it wasn’t _ruined,_ but his camp life was pretty fucked. he was sitting on the bottom bunk, on top of josh’s sheets, which somehow still smelled like cigarette smoke, though josh had stopped smoking within the first few weeks of camp. tyler didn’t mind, he was just sad that he couldn’t see him like he used to. he picked up his phone from the charger, texting him.

 **tyler:** _jish_

he lightly bit his bottom lip, locking his phone and thinking about how much he hated cruz.

“brendon, what if something we’re to...happen...to cruz?” tyler raised an eyebrow.

“ty, you know we can’t do anything.” brendon sounded, his voice deep from sleep.

it was lunch time, but somehow brendon slept through his alarm and tyler had to cover for his kids. he just came to change his shirt; some weird food stuff got on his sweater and he couldn’t get it out. he slipped off his shirt just as the cabin door opened. he looked over and saw josh, his phone in his hand.

“hey, ty. i got your text, is everything okay?”

tyler smiled; josh was so extra.

“yes, i’m fine.” tyler said. “i just wanted to know if everything was okay for you.”

“you mean spending everyday alone? because it’s shit.” he said, walking over to tyler and kissing his cheek before plopping on his own bed.

tyler put on his grey sweatshirt before sitting next to josh. he slumped on him, wrapping him in a hug around his waist. josh did the same, throwing an arm over tyler’s shoulders and smiling lightly. he rested his head in tyler’s soft hair.

“is everything okay?” josh asked.

he felt tyler shrug. he nodded, knowing exactly what that meant.

“i’m going to find a way to fix it, alright?” josh said, needing to figure out a way for them to see each other more.

tyler nodded, sighing. “i’m going to go back before cruz walks in here.”

tyler got up from josh, grabbing his phone. josh furrowed his eyebrows, looking at tyler’s bare head.

“ty, where’s your flower crown?”

“dead. i don’t have time to make another one.” tyler shrugged, looking at the floor. he really wanted to make himself one, but he would normally do that on his lunch break. well.

josh tried to make light of the situation.

“at least we could have a little time here wit-”

the cabin door opened, tyler groaning loudly in annoyance when cruz popped his stupid head in. josh quickly laid down on the bed, back flat against the mattress. brendon was already sleeping like that, so he had nothing to worry about. the thing with these bunk beds is that the bedframes are halfway connected to the top bunk, so you couldn’t really see what was on the bottom bunk unless you looked at it from the side.

“hey, guys. cabin checks.”

“we didn’t have cabin checks when matty was here.” tyler crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“well, clearly matty didn’t follow protocol.”

“fuck your protocol. i don’t have anything in here, you could go.” tyler was fed up with this man, doesn’t he have different jobs to do? why was he so focused on him?

“tyler, you can’t use bad words around here.” cruz said.

“i forgot i couldn’t curse in front of children. sorry.” tyler shrugged sarcastically, josh trying to hide his laughter in his hand.

wowie.

cruz shot tyler a look, tyler sighing in relief when he actually left the cabin.  josh got up from the bottom bunk, nudging tyler.

“ty, you’re so sassy.” josh was impressed, if he was being honest.

“he’s pissing me off.” tyler furrowed his eyebrows, looking back at the door. “i gotta go.”

“you can’t stay the rest of the period?” josh asked.

“i want to, love. cruz has me on kitchen duty for today and tomorrow. i don’t think pete can do that by himself. i’m going to see you soon, yeah?”

tyler stood on his tippy toes, placing a quick kiss to josh’s lips. josh watched tyler leave the cabin, sighing.

“dude, you two are in love.” brendon said from beneath his covers.

josh jumped, completely forgetting brendon was there. he felt his cheeks heat up at the thought of it, running his hands down his face. he only smiled in return, because maybe it was true.

well, at least for him.

>><< 

tyler sighed, collapsing on his bed. he hadn’t seen josh all day, but he was able to text him without getting caught, so he guessed that was a good thing.

“what’s the matter?” brendon asked, looking up at tyler from his phone screen.

tyler shook his head, not wanting to bother brendon. besides, it wasn’t a big deal. he just didn’t see josh for the enitre day, who cares? he _maybe_ missed him a ton, but it was nothing. no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop thinking about josh. he tried, so he wouldn’t feel as alone with the kids, but he couldn’t.

it sucked.

“something is troubling you.” brendon said, seeing tyler blink too many times at once.

“brendon...” tyler sighed again, resting his head in his hands and leaning on his knees.

he looked up at brendon, eyes holding worry.

“i think i might be falling in love with josh,” tyler said, holding his head in his hands, “and i really don’t want to.”

“well, why not?” brendon asked, setting his phone down and fully listening to tyler. “josh is the best.”

“because what if i manage to do something stupid? what if he doesn’t even feel the same? i’m probably nothing more than a summer hookup to him. what the fuck are we going to do after summer?”

“tyler, josh goes to our school.” brendon said, confused.

“went. he’s eighteen.”

“so? he could be a senior now. is school really what you’re worried about?” brendon asked.

“fuck.” tyler tugged at his hair. “i just don’t want to mess anything up.”

“tyler, i’m sure josh feels the same. from the way he looks at you, to just how he acts around you. you just need to tell him.”

“fuck that!” tyler whisper-shouted. “and ruin what we have? this is why i don’t want to, because i’ll just keep falling and...and what if i crash?”

“then i’ll be there to help fix you, okay? tell him.” brendon urged.

tyler shook his head, sighing heavily again. is this what being in love is like? being stressed out about someone and never wanting to see their face again, yet wanting them close at the same time? is it the feeling of longing when they were only a phone call away, and wanting to talk for hours at a time, just about them or yourself or anything? was it normal that he wanted to sing songs with him and laugh at how silly they were, at how silly _he_ was?

tyler never understood it, and he wasn’t even sure if it was love he was feeling, but he knew it was more than a stupid crush. it was something, but he didn’t know what the hell it was.

“listen, yo-”

tyler’s phone started ringing, brendon falling silent as he gestured for tyler to get it. he picked it up and looked at the caller id, his heart dropping.

“it’s him! what do i do?”

“answer it, stupid! he’s your boyfriend.” brendon rolled his eyes.

tyler slid the button over to the right, holding the phone up to his ear.

“hey, ty.” josh’s warm voice sounded through the phone, making tyler smile.

“hi, josh.” he could almost see josh do the same.

“i was calling because cruz said that there was something behind your cabin, but i don’t think he told you about it.”

“he didn’t. what was it?” tyler asked.

“i don’t know. i think you should go check it out before he sees it again. he said he didn’t want it around you, so you should take care of it.” josh said.

“um...okay. i’ll go see, now. thanks.”

“no problem. i’ll see you, okay?”

“okay.” tyler nodded, biting his lip, deciphering whether or not to just slip it in now before he-

tyler sighed at the beeps of the ending call, locking his phone. brendon gave him a questioning look, tyler shaking his head. brendon shrugged, picking up his phone and continuing to scroll through his phone. tyler exited the cabin sneakily, just in case cruz were to appear again like he always does.

maybe then he could tell him what he was looking at.

tyler circled the cabin, wrapping his arms around himself as a chilly nighttime breezes scraped his skin. it was dark, except for the moon casting a clue-white glow on everything on the ground. he was looking around for anything out of place, but it was all the same. the grass was trimmed all the way down to the spot.

tyler looked around, not seeing anything different. what the hell was josh talking about?

he felt hands touch his waist, turning around quickly to try and see who it was. he gasped, heart racing, as they pushed him against the cabin wall, both hands resting on his hips.

“what the f-” tyler could see the pastel strands of hair in the moonlight. “josh!”

“i was the thing cruz wanted to separate!” josh said, smiling enthusiastically, like a child.

“you’re an idiot.” tyler giggled, hiding his face in josh’s neck and focusing on not letting the butterflies explode in his stomach too bad.

josh hugged tyler closer to him, resting his head on top of his head after kissing a spot. he was happy to see tyler, if he was being honest. it’s only been six hours, but still.

“hey, how was your day?” josh asked, just because.

tyler shrugged, josh nodding in response. “same.”

tyler pulled back, _really_ trying not to let the butterflies screw him over, looking at josh.

“you wanna go to the spot? the stars look nice.” josh suggested.

“okay, sure.” tyler nodded, following josh in silence to their usual spot.

he looked up at the sky, staring in awe as bright stars speckled the black sky; they were mesmerizing. he focused his gaze back on josh, the quickly averted it to the floor. he and josh had almost been dating for two months, yet he somehow felt like they had first met, and his body was bursting with excitement, and he felt free, like he was floating. he felt like he didn’t have any worries, likw he could wear his flower crowns and oversized sweaters in peace and laugh with josh without cruz being a helicopter and trying to split them up.

he was _okay_ around josh, and he finally realized.

this is what love was. he had his own definition of falling in love, and what it was like. he had his own experiences and feelings to go with it, and they all centered around one person.

it was josh.

“ty?” josh asked again, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“yeah?”

“i asked if you were going to sit down with me.”

tyler thought about it, but then he started thinking about josh. and soon he was thinking; should he just actually tell him? his mouth ran cotton dry as he sat down on the ground, knees brought up to his chest. his heart was pounding _so loud_ in his ears and his hands were gross and clammy, but he was so nervous right now.

it’s not like he was going to tell him, anyways, right?

“tyler, i know that your flower crown was dead, so i tried to make you new one.” josh said, picking up a ring of flowers that tyler could barely see, but he knew that they were light colors, just like he would use. he placed it on tyler’s head as best as he could. it was more leaves and vines than flowers, but tyler still loved it.

“awe, josh. thank you.” tyler smiled so widely that he probably looked like freaky fred, but _wow_ , was this guy the best.

josh only kissed tyler’s forehead in response, leaning back on his hands and looking at the stars. tyler glanced at josh, trying not to seem so ner-

“ty, are you alright? you seem nervous.” josh asked, looking at tyler.

tyler sighed, hiding his head in his knees. “no.”

“why?” josh asked, concern lacing his voice as he shifted himself so that he was facing tyler.

“because...” tyler swallowed, deciding to just _do it._ “because of you, josh.”

josh tilted his head in confusion, silently asking tyler to explain.

“every time, and i mean _every single time_ i see you, i get like, these stupid butterflies in my stomach. i can’t help it either. if i could i would, they make me uncomfortable but at the same time i want to shout about how much i love your smiles or your laugh or your hair. every time i see you i just wish i could see more of you and...fuck.” tyler tugged at his hair, realizing he was rambling and probably sounded like an idiot.

“i’m falling the fuck in love with you, and i _can’t stop.”_

josh removed tyler’s hands from his hair, waiting until he looked up at him. he wasn’t really good with words, so instead he cupped tyler’s cheek with one and supported himself on the other as he leaned in to where he was sitting, kissing him softly. tyler shut his own eyes, gripping the collar of josh’s leather jacket, pulling him even closer, the rest of his thoughts spilling out in a wordless manner. he moved his hands to the nape of josh’s neck, shifting his head slightly to kiss him better. he smiled into the kiss, pushing his lips against josh’s harder, because man _,_ did he love this guy.

_and man, did josh love him, too._

josh pulled back slightly, just to where his lips were ghosting over tyler’s. their eyes were still closed, still trying to live in the moment, both breathless.

“i love you, too.” josh said, smiling, because it felt _so good_ to finally say it. “i really do.”

and it felt even better to mean it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A.N. thank you for reading! let me know what you think, i love reading your comments! 
> 
> if there's something you like/don't like, tell me so that i could hopefully improve my writing :)
> 
> -love, manda
> 
> p.s. 500+ HITS WHAT)


	14. fourteen >><< the overseer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A.N. hi guys!
> 
> THERE ARE ONLY A FEW MORE CHAPTERS LEFT OF THE BOOK, I REPEAT
> 
> ISS ALMOST DONE
> 
> i'm thinking one more chapter after this and then the epilogue, then ONTO MORE FICS! i'm still not sure about the twenties themed detective one that i was writing, but then again i'm sure i could find a way to write it. 
> 
> i don't know, what would you guys like? if you could leave me some suggestions of stuff you like reading about, i'm all ears! it's about uS ya'll, US
> 
> also i'm seeing beebo on saturday, so if you're going we should meet up or somethin'. i'm always down for new frens :)) 
> 
> but anyways,
> 
> enjoy!)

tyler was back in the art room, because cruz granted him his wish of staying there for another day.

he’d already finished rinsing the shirts in separate salt water baths, and he spent all morning washing them out so that they’d be fine for the kids to wear today. he told his group to stay in the room while he went out back to check if they were dry.

he felt the material, the sun actually working fast on these, and he began to take them down. he did them quickly, as he wanted to get back to his kids before they wandered off or cruz yelled at him, or something else stupid. he eventually bundled them in his arms and returned to the art room. he saw emily holding a folded piece of notebook paper that he hadn’t noticed before. it was crumpled and it looked written on, but she held it out anyways for him.

“joshy came in here while you were outside!” emily giggled, watching tyler open it.

_have a good day, today. i love you!_

_-josh_

tyler smiled widely, his heart bursting. he folded it back up and kept it in his pocket, the simple gesture already brightening up his mood.

“thanks, em.” he said, patting her head.

he passed out the shirts to the correct kids, trying to remember who inked which colors on their shirts. he kept the bigger ones for him and josh, examining them to see what else it needed. he decided his was fine, but he wanted something else of josh’s shirt.

“hey, kids. you want to come write cute things on josh’s t shirt?” he asked, receiving nods from the kids.

he knew josh liked them, and that they liked josh, so why not? he went into the supply closet to grab a piece of stray cardboard and sharpies before returning to the counter, the kids surrounding it. he slid the cardboard into the shirt and flipped it to the back, allowing them to write on it.

tyler’s phone began to ring in his pocket, josh’s name flashing across the screen.

“nothing weird!” he called to them as he made his way to the back of the room. “hello?”

“hey, tyler. are you still on kitchen duty?” josh asked.

“nah, brendon volunteered in for me. why?”

“because i was wondering...if you...”

“want to eat lunch with you?” tyler asked.

“please? everyone left the table. brendon goes back to the cabin to sleep and pete and patrick, they-”

“say no more. i’ll come to your rescue in...” tyler checked the time, “twenty minutes.”

“thank you.” josh let out a sigh of relief.

“uh-huh. i’ll see you later, okay?” tyler bit the bottom of his lip again. “i love you.”

“i love you, too. bye.” josh said through a small laugh. those words always made him happy.

tyler blew out a breath, trying to get his heart rate to calm down before going back to the kids. he saw almost the entire back was filled out with messages from each of them, paired with hearts or stars. he wrote a message in an empty space, deciding it was fine and took the cardboard out of the shirt.

“okay, let’s go drop this off to josh.” tyler said, needing something to do for the next fifteen minutes.

he was looking forward to it, if he was being honest. it was just lunch, but still. it was different somehow. he held the door open for the kids, each of them holding their shirts while tyler held onto theirs. he took the back entrance to the cabins, making his way along the grassy field, where the spot was. he looked around, enjoying the warm breezes that nipped at his shirt or the butterflies that fluttered past him in the wind.

he liked the outdoors.

he told the kids to wait outside the ways’ cabins before knocking on the door. gerard answered, opening the door for him.

“don’t you have kids to take care of, g?” tyler asked, an amused smirk on his face. this guy never did what he was supposed to.

“yeah. i’m in here ‘looking for instruments’.” he said, making air quotations.

“who’s taking care of your kids now?” tyler asked, setting the shirt down where josh’s backpack was set.

“my brother.” he shrugged, turning around to continue digging through his stuff. “is that for josh?”

“yeah.” tyler looked back at the shirt.

“tell that little asshole to stop putting itching powder everywhere.” gerard said, finding a white box full of the same powder he was talking about.  

tyler giggled. “josh is still doing that?”

“and he’s doing other shit, too. i’m going to die in here.”

“i’ll tell him for you.” tyler said, about to leave the cabin.

“wait, are you two a thing?” he asked, turning to look at him.

“um...yeah. why?”

“you know camp ends in a few weeks, right? josh lives in l.a.”

tyler was silent for a moment, trying to think of what to say. he lived in columbus.

“i’m not trying to be a dick or anything, i’m just letting you know. i like you guys, despite josh being a shit.” gerard said. “talk to him.”

tyler nodded, surprised that gerard actually cared about him, before leaving. he saw other counsellors leading their groups to where he assumed was the cafeteria, doing the same with his own kids.

“put on your shirts, guys. it’s gonna look cool.” tyler said, the kids doing exactly that.

tyler walked into the cafeteria, the kids sitting in their assigned table and waiting for whoever was in the kitchen for food. tyler looked towards his usual table, seeing josh leaning against it as he scrolled through his phone. his nose ring flashed against the light of the screen as his hazel eyes darted across the screen.

“hey, mr. man.” tyler said, smiling brightly at josh.

he looked up from his phone, his lips instantly curving into one of the smiles that made his eyes all squinty and the creases in his cheeks form.

“hey.” he said, his voice carrying a child-like tinge to it.

“do we have food for lunch?” tyler asked, remembering that they were supposed to be having lunch soon.

josh opened his mouth to speak, but pete’s voice interrupted him.

“now you do!” he said, giving them both sandwiches.

tyler burst into laughter upon seeing pete in an apron and hairnet. pete frowned, nudging tyler with his free hand.

“you looked even worse, loser.”

“nutella again?” he asked.

“hey, you could never go wrong with nutella, dude.” pete said before walking away.

tyler nodded, shrugging and taking a bite of the sandwich, josh doing the same.

“not as good as yours, but...it’ll do.”

“shall we?” tyler asked, holding his hand out for josh to take.

>><<

“you know what we should do?” josh asked, dusting his hands off in his jeans.

“what?” tyler asked.

“i forgot i had candy in my backpack.” josh said.

tyler squinted at him, catching on. they stared at each other in silence, waiting for someone to say something, until tyler spoke up.

“last one there is a rotten toe.” he sprang up from his sitting position on the bottom bunk and raced out the door, josh laughing and following him.

he was close behind him, catching up quickly. tyler ran with a smile on his face, running against the wind and ducking underneath stray branches from the trees that lined the walkway through the cabins. he heard josh’s laughter from behind him, making him do the same as they were at the same pace now, josh running a little faster than tyler had hoped.

he ended up getting to the cabin first, sticking his tongue out at tyler before opening the door for him to enter.

“gerard? you’re still in here?” tyler asked, seeing his sitting on his bed, reading a book.

“i’m on lunc-” he looked up to see josh with him, raising his eyebrows. “oh. just kidding.”

he got up and left, just like that. tyler shrugged anyway, josh gesturing to his bed where his backpack was. he noticed the shirt folded on his bed, tyler completely forgetting about it, and he picked it up. he looked to tyler, who pretended he didn’t know either, before unfolding it and reading the little messages from the kids on the back.

“awe, ty.” josh said, chuckling. “this is adorable.”

“is it the right size?” tyler asked.

“yeah.” he shrugged. “i could always tuck it in. thank you.” he said.

tyler smiled in return, josh putting the shirt on his nightstand before flopping in his bed, digging through his black backpack in search for the candy. he pulled out a giant bag of skittles, the bag crunching as he threw it on the bed. josh looked up at tyler expectantly and laid his arm out, tyler flopping on the bed as well and laying close to josh, who wrapped his arm around tyler’s shoulders.

he was in this cabin earlier, and soon he remembered what gerard had managed to convince him to ask.

“josh? you live in l.a., right?” tyler asked, taking a green skittle from the bag and popping it in his mouth.

“heck yeah i do.” he replied. “you do, too?”

“i live in columbus.”

josh stopped chewing his candy, and looked up at the ceiling in thought. this sparked all sorts of questions and worries. when would he see tyler after camp? would tyler even want to stay together?

“we could do long distance. it’ll work out.” tyler said, nodding, more to assure himself than josh.

“okay. okay, you’re right.” josh said.

tyler shut his eyes, trying not to think too much about later. he was happy where he was now, in a comfortable sweater, in josh’s arms. he was happy, to say the least. if he could stay like this forever, he would, if he was being honest. he felt safe, but at the same time, like he had the power to do anything he wanted to. it was almost as if he was floating on clouds, or falling in slow motion into a pit of nothing.

but the good kind of nothing. he could definitely get used to this.

“tyler?” josh said, still staring up at the ceiling.

“hmm?” he asked, nuzzling closer into josh’s side.

“i love you.” josh said, then exploding in giggles after he said it.

tyler was amused; josh never _giggled._

“i love you, too.”  

tyler was just about to close his eyes again when he saw someone in the distance of the cabin. he squinted to see better before grimacing at _cruz_ from the front window, doing more cabin checks. he knocked on the door of the cabin across from josh’s, opening it and looking around. he flipped through his clipboard papers, nodding and shutting the door back. his heart sped up; he wasn’t supposed to be near josh, especially that they were laying down together.

“josh! cruz is coming!” he said, josh lifting his head up and seeing him.

“wouldn’t it be a shame if he were to come in here while we’re just...”

tyler squinted at him, trying to figure out what he was trying to say, before squealing in surprise as josh smothered him in a hug. he rolled over so that they both fell on the carpet that the ways had put near the beds, tyler underneath him and laughing at the feeling.

“josh, what the hell are you doing?” tyler said between laughs, josh peppering kisses all over tyler’s face.

he didn’t let up, even when cruz walked into the cabin. he forgot to knock, probably because he knew this was josh’s cabin. tyler gasped through his nose before josh rolled over again and kissed his lips, moving his hands to the lowest part of tyler’s hips.

“oh my jesus-what the fuck?” cruz dropped his clipboard in surprise.

instead of breaking away from josh, tyler only moved his lips to the crook of josh’s neck and flipped cruz off. josh smiled in amusement, moaning loudly for dramatic effect.

“stop doing that!” cruz said.

“doing what?” josh asked, slipping his hands lower just to tick cruz off.

“ah! you’re both on probation! ew!”

“probation for making out on our lunch break?”

“yes! you think you could just do that? you’re both guys, it’s gross.” cruz picked up his clipboard, his face red and his hand shielding his eyes before slamming the door, like a child.

as soon as he left, tyler looked at josh with a wide-eyed expression, josh only laughing.

“holy _shit.”_

“probation?!” tyler asked.

“screw that. i’ll find away around it.”

“you always do.”

josh looked at tyler from underneath him, smiling fondly, tyler blushing under his gaze. he knew why he was looking at him like that, and his gaze fell to josh’s chest.

he didn’t deserve him.

“i could see that. what’s wrong?” josh asked, voice soft as he held onto tyler’s hips.  

tyler shrugged out of nonimportance, tracing small circles with his finger on josh’s chest. he focused on the steady thumping of josh’s heart beneath his fingertips, complete silence surrounding them. tyler still couldn’t believe he was able to call josh his, and he couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that josh loved him, too. it was weird, but it made tyler’s stomach catch in knots the more he thought about it.

he was about to say something when the cabin door opened again. he looked up, seeing gerard standing in the doorway, replaying something on his phone.

“dude! i got that whole thing on video!” he said, rushing up to tyler before the video played again.

josh tried his best to look at it upside down, seeing cruz drop his clipboard and yell at them on gerard’s shaky camera. tyler gasped; he could hear the audio clearly, and he could hear every word cruz had said.

“how’d you get this?” tyler asked, rewatching the video.

“i took my phone out, and then i re-”

tyler rolled his eyes. “no, _how?”_

“oh! i was sitting under that giant tree over there.” gerard pointed to nowhere in particular.

“this could get him fi-” tyler said, worried at first, but then he remembered how much he hated cruz.

he looked up at gerard, then to josh, earning a smirk.

“i think you know what we need to do.” gerard said.

“we could show this to the camp leader?” josh said. “and _then_ we could make our own camp. and it’d be sick.”

“cruz is the camp leader.”

“i thought he was another director?” tyler asked, confused.

gerard shook his head. “no. since firing matty was late, they couldn’t get a new director, so cruz stepped down.”

“then who could we see?”

“maybe the camp overseer. the one that organizes everything.”

tyler knew exactly who to go to, scrambling off of josh.

“please send me that.” he said, leaving out the door.

josh followed after him; if he was going to do some crazy shit, he would need some support.

>><< 

“vic! vic fuentes!” tyler called as he knocked on his cabin door.

he was all the way behind the cabins, the only one that sat near the exit of the camp on a little hill near the forest. he opened it quickly, looking at tyler and josh through his glasses. tyler clearly interrupted his work, but this was important.  

“what, tyler?” he asked.

“cruz is homophobic.” he outright said.

“what?” vic asked again. he’s never heard of anyone hating anyone on _his_ campgrounds.

“the camp leader.”

“no, he’s not. when he filled out the application he said he didn’t care about race or sexuality and stuff.”

tyler scrolled through his messages to see gerard’s name in bold, tapping on the video he sent. he showed vic, who squinted through the blurry pixilation of gerard’s shaky hand, eyebrows raising when he heard cruz.

“are you sure this is cruz?” vic asked, leaning against the doorframe.

“don’t you see them tight ass slacks he’s got on?” tyler said, pointing to him.

vic let out a tiny chuckle, nodding. “okay, i’ll see to it. thanks for bringing it to my attention.”

he sighed, running a hand through his hair and shut the door. tyler and josh ran away, like two kids, adrenaline and excitement running through them. they made it to their spot, breathless and exhausted.

“did we just get cruz fired?” he asked.

“yeah!” josh laughed, then his smile quickly faded. “now i feel like an ass.”

“maybe we-”

“get your asses in the cafeteria, now! lunch ended five minutes ago!” cruz called from the walkway of the cabins.

“nevermind.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A.N. thank you for reading!
> 
> -love, manda)


	15. fifteen >><< until next time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A.N. OFFICIAL LAST CHAPTER, YEEE
> 
> ngl i'm kinda pressed that it's ending, but also ngl i liked writing this. i hope you guys liked reading this!
> 
> I LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU THAT READ THIS FIC, THANK YOU SO MUCH
> 
> much luv 
> 
> enjoy!
> 
> p.s. why does bathtubs by royal canoe give me 13rw vibes i didn't ask for this i'm-)

camp ended for good this week; today was the last day.

time really flew by, to say the least. it was as if just yesterday tyler was giggling at his friends obsessing over the “new guy”, or being wrapped up in bear hugs from the same people who he loved, yet almost never saw before camp. the day carried a nostalgic vibe with it, tyler replaying memories in his head. he would smile absentmindedly every now and then, thinking back to josh, or the kids, or brendon. now that he thought of it, brendon seemed more distant, and tyler missed him. he’d have to find a way to fix it, whatever it was. he wanted to give him piggy back rides and make fun of him and just be his best friend again, and he decided he’d put that first.

but other than that, he had fun here.

you know, except for cruz.

he sighed, poking at his pie with his fork at the lunch table. it was pecan, and he loved pecan pie, but he didn’t trust it. the bread wasn’t even bread here, heck no.

“guys, i’m sad.” brendon said, frowning and resting his head on his hands.

“me too. i might miss you guys.” pete said, sighing.

“i’m gonna miss josh the most.” patrick said, pushing josh’s beanie off of his head and ruffling his disheveled hair.

“stop that!” josh shooed patrick’s hand away, retrieving his gray beanie from the floor.

 he only laughed in return, starting conversation with brendon and pete.

“what’s wrong, tyler? i thought pecan pie was your favorite.” josh pouted, turning his attention to tyler and poking his face.

he smiled softly, dimples imprinted in his cheeks, but the smile quickly faded.

“i’m going to miss you, josh. like...a lot.” tyler said, sighing.

he was thinking about later, and he didn’t know what to do.

“i’ll miss you, too. but we could make it work. if we could get someone _fired,_ we could do long distance.” josh smirked.

tyler giggled, remembering what happened a few days ago and _wow,_ was he rowdy. he leaned into josh, who had put his arm around him, sighing contentedly. tyler forked a piece of pie into his mouth, shrugging to himself as it could’ve been worse, and continuing to eat it. josh looked around the room, spotting one of tyler’s kids, emily, from across the room. he smiled and waved at her, getting a wide grin in response.

he’d definitely miss these kids.

“tyler, whe-”

“guys! matty’s back!” gerard shouted as he ran into the room, causing small conversations and the murmurs of voices to cease.

“what?” tyler broke the silence.

“he’s here!” gerard said again, this time, even more enthusiastic.

tyler looked at josh, who blinked at gerard.

“well, where is he?” josh called.

gerard rolled his eyes, making tyler’s table laugh before he sat as his own. tyler lit up at the person who walked through the lunchroom doors, curly hair a mess on their head, but in a good way.

“hey, campers!” matty said, waving at everyone.

the kids all shouted back at him, even tyler, earning looks from the table. he shrugged, focusing back on matty.

“i’m back, and since today is the last day, we’re going to do lanterns tonight. make it count, today is special!” matty said, eyes bright and smile full of life.

this is the matty that tyler had wanted back when cruz was here. this matty made camp fun, and tyler actually looked forward to each day _that matty_ was here. tyler watched him leave again, off to do camp director things, and he went back to eating his pie.

“what a fuckin’ legend.” pete said lowly, staring at the lunchroom doors like he just saw his favorite celebrity.

“i’m so glad he’s back. cruz was a mess.” brendon shook his head.

“where’d he go anyway?” patrick asked.

tyler and josh pretended to be busy, josh pulling out his phone instantly and tyler shoving a piece of pie into his mouth.

“is there something you’re not telling us?” patrick asked, eyebrow raised.

“um...we _may..._ have gotten cruz fired. _maybe.”_

“no way.”

“fuckin’ legend!” pete held his hand up for a high five, astonished.

tyler just rolled his eyes and shooed pete’s hand away, laughing at the tiny pout on his lips.

if he was being honest, all he wanted was to spend the rest of the summer with these guys. between being in his boy’s arms to laughing about stupid things with his best friends, he decided he would miss this the most.

out of all the kids and the staff and the activities,

_he’d miss them the most._

>><< 

night fell, and the camp was gathering outside again to wish the final session of camp goodbye. tyler’s heart beat slowly with sadness, yet, he couldn’t wait to do this again next summer. he had already helped his group with their lanterns, getting ready to go outside. brendon walked through the door, stopping when he saw tyler.

“tyler, my babe!” he shouted, running to him.

he had that wild look in his eyes, and tyler’s blew wide with realization.

“brendon, stop runn-!” tyler was tackled to the ground, brendon engulfing him in a bear hug and nuzzling into his neck. he was winded, but he needed to laugh, and he didn’t know how to do both.

“bren!” tyler wheezed.

“i haven’t seen you in forever!” he said.

“you see me every day!” tyler finally regained his breath.

“not really! i love you, tyler! you’re my best friend, okay?” he said, voice still muffled.

“okay! i love you, too.” tyler placed a kiss on brendon’s head. “now get the fuck off me!”

brendon sat up, straddling tyler’s hips with a pout on his face. “you’re no fun.”

he got off, leaving tyler a panting mess on the floor, grabbing his lantern on his bed. “i’ll see you out there.”

tyler rolled over, trying to get his breathing back to normal before getting up and taking his lantern off of his nightstand. he met everyone outside, looking through faces to see either josh or his friends.

“hey, ty.” jenna said from behind him.

he jumped, sighing and turning around.

“forgot i was here, huh?” she asked.

“of course not! how could i forget my own sister?” tyler said.

no, really. he couldn’t believe he _forgot his own sister_.

“uh-huh. come on.” she said, her smile shining against the stars as he led tyler to the group surrounding matty.

“okay, guys. i only came back a few hours ago, so i can’t say this has been a fun week. but, i _will_ say that i hope you enjoyed your last week at camp bottomridge, and i hope to see you again next summer!” he said, looking down at his lantern. “let’s release these in memory of a great session!”

tyler sighed, looking down at his own lantern. he felt like he’d be release a part of him, almost. of course, he’d be back, and of course, the same people will be here, but something about the environment everyone’s created this time made him feel sad. he was thankful for matty, and pete, and pat and brendon, and most importantly, josh.

he wouldn’t have _ever_ in his life thought about having josh as his when patrick and pete were blowing up his phone on the first day, gushing over this new guy and his cool hair. he was still in awe about how someone like josh could’ve fallen in love with someone like _him._ they were completely different, yet the same, and he couldn’t ask for a better person to spend his summer with, falling in love for the first time and bringing even more excitement into his life.

josh was like a special gift that tyler would only get on a _really_ special holiday, so he’d make sure not to mess it up. he wanted to keep this gift for as long as he could.

the more he stared down into the lantern, the more he thought, and he was just about to let it go.

“ty! i found you.” josh said, looking at his latern. “is everything okay?”

“yeah. i’m just sad.” tyler shrugged, letting his lantern go.

both of them watched as their summer floated away in front of them, into the large crowd of other people’s summers, holding different memories, different experiences. tyler flopped down to his knees before laying down on his back, josh doing the same. it was just like first session, when they would be basking in the light of the lanterns in the grey sky.

tyler scooted closer to josh and rested his head on his chest, josh instinctively wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

“i love you.” tyler told him, just to say it.

“i love you, too. very much.”

tyler smiled at that, heart heavy with appreciation and love for this guy.

“until next time.” tyler said softly, watching as the last lantern disappeared into the clouds in a blink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A.N. thank you for reading this whole thing through! it means a lot, serious <3
> 
> i hope you liked it, tell me what you thought of everything! also, if you wanna help me out, pls leave me some suggestions of what y'all like reading! 
> 
> -love you mucho, manda)


	16. sixteen >><< epilogue

tyler and josh had been trying.

it was hard, almost impossible at times, to live in two different states. if it were up to tyler, he’d move to los angeles; he liked california anyways. every day he’d look forward to the blurry image of josh’s smile on his laptop, calling to say hi and check up on each other. josh would light up at the random text messages tyler would send throughout the day, a simple gesture that meant the world to him.

there were other times where tyler would be so frustrated with everything, but trying to calm himself down by remembering that he still had josh, even if he wasn’t actually here. josh would write little notes to tyler, expressing how hard this was for him as well, but encouraging them both with the “we can do it”s on the bottom of the crinkled notebook paper.

it was winter break now, tyler huddled underneath his blanket and texting josh. josh had said he was going on a trip with his brother and sister somewhere, but he told tyler he didn’t know yet.

**josh:** _my friend’s mom offered for me to stay at their house, said she had some spare bedrooms_

**tyler:** _that was nice of her_

**tyler:** _you still don’t know where you’re going yet?_

**josh:** _surpise, i lied_

**josh:** _i’m actually at the person’s house now, but my siblings are staying somewhere else_

tyler was about to text back until the sound of the doorbell sounded loudly throughout the whole house.

“tyler? could you please get that?” his mother called from across the stairs, tyler groaning.

he got up from under his blanket, locking his phone and tossing it on his mattress before going to answer the door. he ran a hand through his messy hair, sock covered feet sliding across the hardwood before opening the door, not bothering to see who it was; probably someone for his mom or something.

and he almost burst into tears when he saw him.

josh smiled widely at tyler, his eyes getting all squinty and making tyler smile in return.

“you’re...”

the words were stuck in his throat, and instead of trying to get them out, tyler only kissed josh sweetly and hugged him tightly, his eyes threatening to spill from being so happy.

_josh was here, right now, with him._

“hi, ty.” josh pressed his lips to tyler’s soft hair, resting his head on his.

“i missed you, josh.” tyler’s voice was muffled in the fabric of josh’s t-shirt.

“i missed you more. your mom was the mom i was talking about!” he said happily, like a child.

tyler giggled, hiding his blushing face in his hands. josh pulled back, looking over tyler. he was more than happy, because he was able to really see tyler again, not just through a screen. he was able to hear his voice without the lags and background noise, and he was able to touch him and feel how fluffy his hair was, or how soft his hips were. he was able to hug him and kiss him and _be with him,_

and he wouldn’t trade this moment for the world.

**Author's Note:**

> (A.N. let me know what you think, don't be afraid to talk to me kids!
> 
> -love, manda
> 
> P.S. i'm going to begin to write a different type of fic, maybe one set in the twenties with criminals and weird slang, i don't know. just a heads up!)


End file.
